Hope for the Future
by Baxxie
Summary: Three of them had enough. The band was over and so was their friendship. One was left behind, forgotten. After ten years they all have their own problems and they could use a friend. Can they fix things before it's too late? Warning OOC & swearing
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

In 2014…

"I am so sick and tired of all your whining, James. You're unhappy? I didn't even want this in the first place! I was supposed to become a doctor." The short brunette reminds his bandmate, looking aggrivated.

"Then why didn't you, Logan? I never forced you to come here. Kendall is the one who suggested we all came here. Gustavo didn't even want me. He only wanted Kendall!" James yells, pointing towards his blonde friend, whose mouth opens in shock.

"Oh no you don't." He started, shaking his head and walking up close to the other tall boy of the group. "You don't get to blame this on me, James. I only suggested that because you were upset. It was your dream to become famous. And now that you are, you're still not happy. That has nothing to do with my suggestion, that has to do with your egocentric, spoiled, pretty boy's ass!" Kendall spits, poking his finger in James' shoulder and walking forward. By the time he is done, James has fallen backwards into a chair.

"You know what? Screw you, Kendall. Screw all of you!" The pretty brunette yells, before storming out of the dance studio.

"Right, just walk away, James. That always helps!" Kendall yells after him, not even flinching when the studio doors slam shut with a loud bang.

"Why does this always happen? Why can't we have one single day in the studio without someone starting an argument?" The short Latino in the band asks with a frustrated sigh, before sinking into a white couch in the corner.

"Because some people are just self centred jerks!" Kendall yells, pointing towards the dance studio doors again.

"Oh, don't act like it's all him, Kendall. You constantly challenge each other into these stupid petty fights, until one of you apologizes and then it starts all over again." Carlos tells him, while looking at the ceiling with a bored expression and letting his head droop backwards.

"Wow, Carlos. Did not know you could be smart. I guess hell finally froze over." Kendall replies with a challenging look. Carlos lifts his head and looks at Kendall in shock. He shakes his head and clenches his fists, before getting to his feet and heading towards his friend, ready for a fight. Kendall just opens his arms, willing him to come forward.

Logan rolls his eyes at the exchange and sighs, before walking over and stepping in between the two.

"Guys, come on. Carlos, just sit down and Kendall, why don't you cool off for a minute." He suggests, giving Kendall a hard look.

"What? It's not my fault that shorty has a short fuse." Kendall says, holding his arms open again for Carlos to come and fight him. Carlos does walk up, but Logan immediately puts his hands on his chest and starts to push him backwards.

"Just don't respond to him. He's just looking for someone to yell at now that James isn't here." Logan tells his younger friend. Carlos fumes, but nods and retreats out into the hallway for a snack.

Logan looks back at Kendall and shakes his head in disbelief. Kendall stands with a strange grin on his face and his eyes wild.

"Oh, what, Logan? Don't act all innocent now. You started the whole fight with James, because he was bitching about stuff again. Just admit it, you hate it as much as I do." Kendall tells him, smiling smugly while crossing his arms.

"Yeah, so maybe I am tired of James complaining all the time. But you keep egging him on with those stupid comments. Why are you so dead set on challenging everyone into a fight lately?" Logan asks him, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"I've always provoked people, Logan. It's what I do." He answers with a smug grin.

Logan shakes his head. "You do it with authority, Kendall. Not your own friends. What is going on with you? Are you not happy to be here either, anymore? Is that it?"

"Why do I need a reason? God, Logan. I don't get why you're here anymore. You should've become a psychologist. They're always set on pestering people into telling them what's wrong, too." Kendall chuckles and turns away. Logan swiftly grabs his arm and turns him back around.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. What do you want, Kendall? Do you actually want to start a fight, huh? Just tell me what's bothering you." Logan gently tells him, believing he will be able to coax his friend into telling the truth.

"For god's sake, Logan. Why don't you just go fuck Camille." Logan's eyes grow wide at the comment. Kendall chuckles and then gasps. "Oh no, wait. I forgot. You can't do that anymore, because she's too busy fucking Steve. Hm. Maybe if you stopped being such a boring prick, you might still be with her." Kendall starts to laugh out loud. Logan watches him and grits his teeth. He clenches his fists and closes his eyes. But when he opens them, he takes a deep breath and relaxes his hands again.

"I just… I can't do this anymore. We've been best friends for years. We've gone through a lot together and I never wanted to change a thing. But now I can honestly say I wish I had never agreed to coming here. It was never my dream to become famous. I wanted to become a doctor. But I also wanted to stay friends with you guys. So I gave up my dreams to live yours. And it was fun in the beginning. And I found out that I was actually good at performing and singing and whatever. But then we started to have success and it changed us. It changed all of us. James won't stop complaining about every single thing. You can't stop picking fights with everyone around you, no matter how badly you hurt them. And I am just no longer happy with any of it. So you know what? I am done." He says, holding up his hands. "I'm done. Go ahead, pick all the fights you want. I don't care anymore. Be famous, live your dream and trash hotel rooms. I'm not staying around to clean up your mess anymore. I'm out of here." He finishes and walks out of the studio doors.

Kendall watches his retreating figure.

"Well, fine! Who needs you anyway? Why don't you just back to Minnesota and become a doctor, Logan. It's all you're ever going to be good at anyway. Just go ahead and be boring, but don't come crying back to me when you end up miserable and alone! Oh and for your information, Hortense, it wasn't my dream either!" He screams at the already closed door.

He stands alone in the studio for a little while, before he stalks towards the doors himself.

"To hell with this. Stupid boyband… Who came up with a stupid idea like that anyway? I wanted to become a hockey player, for god's sake!" he mumbles to himself while angrily walking out of Rocque Records like his other two friends.

The studio is empty, until suddenly a cheerful Carlos bursts through the doors. His arms are loaded with chocolate bars.

"You guys are not going to believe what just happened. So I just wanted to get one chocolate bar, right? I put in a quarter and…" He looks around in confusion when he realizes there's no one there. "Guys?" he looks around, when the doors open behind him. He turns around and puts on a smile, hoping it to be his friends. But his smile falters when he only sees Gustavo and Kelly.

"Dogs…" Gustavo stops when he notices only one of the boys is present. He clears his throat. "Dog. Where are the other dogs?"

Carlos looks around again and innocently looks back at the producer.

"I don't know." He replies in all honesty.

Gustavo growls, but Kelly nudges him and he pulls himself together.

"Well, I wanted to record some vocals with all of you. But since you're the only one here, let's start with just you." He grumbles and grabs Carlos' arm to drag him off to the sound booth. Carlos protests heavily, nearly dropping the chocolate bars as he silently pleads with Kelly for help.

She just gives him an apologetic smile and follows them.

After an hour of doing vocals and Gustavo yelling at Carlos in frustration, Kelly feels more and more anxious for the other guys to show up. She can't handle watching poor Carlos being slaughtered like that in front of her. She knows he's not doing bad, he's even sounding better than usual. But Gustavo is just upset because the other guys bailed on them. And because lately everyone's been more annoying than usual.

Just as Gustavo starts to throw around a drum stick, his phone starts to vibrate. Kelly notices and picks it up, like any assistant would. She sees it's a text message from Kendall.

"Gustavo, I am hereby letting you know that the band is over. I quit and am moving back to Minnesota to become a hockey player. Thanks for the help. But I am done working with egotistic jerks. Thanks for everything. Kendall." Kelly's eyes grow wide when she sees it. Her mind goes in full panic mode. Kendall quit? But how, why?

Immediately she runs out of the sound booth and dials a familiar number.

"_Hello?"_ Kendall's voice sounds through the speaker.

"Kendall, I just read your text message. What do you mean, you quit? You can't quit." Kelly tells him with an anxious voice.

"_I'm sorry, Kelly. Things just aren't working out. I've made my decision and I'm on my way to the airport right now."_ Her eyes grow even wider.

"The airport, but Kendall… What happened? What could have possibly happened in the last hour to make you decide this all of a sudden?"

"_I didn't just decide it. We knew this would happen eventually. And frankly, I can't believe we've managed to hold on this long."_

"But, but…"

"_Look, it's been fun and I appreciate all the things you and Gustavo have done for us. But it's over, okay? Don't try to talk me out of it anymore. We've already agreed to it, so this is it."_

"Wait. What do you mean, we've agreed?" She asks as she pokes her head into the sound studio to watch Carlos try to reason with the angry Gustavo.

"_We, as in, we the whole group. We're just done with it. We all want to do different things and frankly, I'm just tired of all the fighting. We're just not getting along anymore and are just done with all of it. The band and each other."_ Kelly stares at Carlos in confusion when Kendall stops talking.

"But the whole group, then why.." Kendall sighs deeply on the other end.

"_Listen, Kelly. I appreciate you trying to talk us out of it, but it's just not going to happen. We've agreed on it. There is no more BTR. It's just something you'll have to accept."_

"But, Kendall…" She starts again, staring at Carlos.

"_I'm sorry, Kelly. I really have to go now. I'll try to stay in touch, alright? Just take care of yourself and Gustavo. Goodbye, Kelly."_

"But you can't…"

"_Bye."_ He softly says, before hanging up the phone. Kelly holds the phone in her hand for another moment while she stares at Carlos and Gustavo once again. What just happened?

She then snaps out of it quickly and tries to dial another number. But James' number goes straight to voice mail. He shut it off. Of course he did.

She rushes to dial a third number. But Logan's phone goes straight to voice mail too.

She sighs and looks back at her boss and the last member of Big Time Rush with a heavy heart. How will she handle this one?

Half an hour later…

Kelly stands safely inside the sound studio, flinching every once in a while when Gustavo throws another one of his platinum records to the floor. He screams as loud as he can, but she has turned off the sound and is not regretting it.

She knows he is not the biggest problem right now. She has had to deal with Gustavo's anger before. It's not the first time a band has walked out on him. Even though she really hadn't expected them to do it. He actually liked these 'dogs'. But still, they were a band. Other bands would come along.

No, her main concern right now is the confused boy in front of her. It breaks her heart to see him sitting there, just staring ahead. He's never been this quiet before. She's not sure how to deal with it.

"Carlos? Sweetie? Would you like me to get you some water?" She offers quietly, hoping for any type of response from the innocent looking Latino.

"I just don't understand. Why would Kendall quit like that? And why would he say the band decided on it?" He suddenly quietly mentions. He looks at her with questioning eyes. He looks so confused and hurt.

"I don't know, honey." Is all she can say, while she puts a hand on his arm for comfort.

"I mean, I didn't decide on it." he says, looking at the floor. He seems to be pondering as he scrunches his eyebrows. "Maybe they didn't." He suddenly says and looks up again. Kelly looks confused now. "Maybe it's all a joke. Yeah, I mean, Kendall has been Lord of the Pranks for years now." he says with a small grin, his eyes filled with hope. Kelly gives a small smile herself.

"Yeah. Maybe." She tells him, even though they both know it's not true.

"I'm just going back to the apartment. I'm sure they're all just waiting for me to burst in and they'll laugh and say I fell for it." He says, getting up from his seat. But she can hear the hesitation in his voice. He knows that's not what will happen. But it probably hurts too much to face the truth.

"Yeah, maybe I'll go with you." She offers, getting up as well.

"No, that's okay." He tells her, waving his hands to get her to sit down again. He gulps. "I'll go. I mean, the prank is just meant for me, you know?" She can see the hurt shining in his eyes. Knows he wants to be alone. Because if it's true, he doesn't want her to see him breaking down.

"Okay." She softly tells him. He starts to walk out. "Carlos?" He looks back at her. "Let me know how it went, okay?" He grins half heartedly and nods.

He's not even sure how he got there. He just ended up at apartment 2J suddenly. He lets himself in, prepared with a big grin and swallows heavily. The apartment is hulled in silence. The moment he sees Mrs. Knight sitting on the couch just staring ahead, her face full disbelief he already knows. But he's not ready to admit it.

"Hey, Mama Knight." he says, as cheerful as he can. She looks up quickly, her eyes wide and full of confusion. "Just got back from the studio. Are the guys here yet? Never mind, I'l check myself." He says, moving towards Kendall and Logan's room in one go.

Mrs. Knight stands up from the couch, trying to say something, but he has already opened the door.

His grin falls away immediately at the sight of their closet doors open and all the clothes missing. He lets go of the door and steps inside slowly. He gulps and moves forward, carefully glancing at the emptiness of the room.

Then in one movement he shakes his head and leaves the room. He rushes towards his own bedroom door, the one he shares with James. Surely he didn't leave.

But as he slams the door wide open, his mouth falls open in mere shock.

While his side of the room is still neat and tidy, with all his stuff well in place, James' side is completely abandoned. He runs through the room and opens their bathroom door as well. His eyes are wide as they dart over the missing Cuda products on the now empty shelves.

He steps backwards slowly, not believing his own eyes. But then he is stopped by something soft. He turns around and looks into the caring eyes of Mrs. Knight. She looks apologetic.

"Why is their stuff gone? They didn't leave. I mean, why would they leave? They wouldn't leave me behind like this…" He rambles as his eyes plead with the woman for an answer.

She shakes her head in disbelief of the situation.

"Honey… I thought… I thought you knew. They said that… they said that the band was over and that you all decided on it. That you were done being friends and that you were all going to have your own lives now…" She tells him softly, her hand moving towards her mouth when the realization sinks in. Carlos looks around the room one more time, before his body starts to shake.

"But they wouldn't do this. Why would they do this?" He says in a quiet voice as he slowly starts to sink to his knees. She watches in shock and concern.

"Oh my god… If I had known… I tried to talk them out of it. But I didn't know that you weren't…"

"They forgot about me… They just left without me…" He nearly whispers as tears finally start to come out. The woman immediately gathers him in her arms and tries to comfort him as he silently cries over the friends who left him behind.

"It's gonna be okay…"

It was a day Carlos would never forget. The day Big Time Rush disbanded and the day their friendship died. It was the day everyone literally moved on to finally live the life they had dreamed of. But would it turn out as grand as they thought? Or did they just maybe need their friends after all? A lot can happen in ten years. Good and bad…

**A/N Okay. I know my other stories are nowhere near finished. But this one has been going through my mind for a very long time now. I know I am already writing a future fic, called Minnesota Reunions. But honestly, that one will be the fluffy future fic. Some drama will occur, but I don't want to put too much angst/drama into that one. So here's another one in which things are about to get a whole lot worse.**

**Hope no one minds. I have a lot of ideas for a lot of drama concerning BTR and their families. Some might go into one shots, because I have different versions in my head for them to meet and what is wrong in their lives. But expect a lot of drama for all of them :)**

**Hope you have great holidays and check out my tumblr .com if you want to get in touch personally ;)**

**Anyway, talk to ya'll later. I am going to bed (it's 4AM). Very tired and a lot of school work to do, while stressing out over some stuff. So happy to finally feel some inspiration again to write this much :) Let me know what you think, I love constructive critisism, because I want to become a better writer :)**

**Thanks everyone for your support and until next time!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	2. Chapter 1 The Face

**Chapter 1 The Face**

It's been ten years. Ten years since Big Time Rush broke up. Ten years since James Diamond decided that enough was enough and he left Rocque Records to lead his own life.

It had once been his dream to become famous, succesful as a model or a popstar. But when Big Time Rush hit it high, he wasn't happy. Something was missing. Never had he thought he would move back in with his mother and start working for her.

But he didn't regret it. In fact, it had brought him a lot of good things. Thanks to his mom, he finally became a succesful model. His face was shown on billboards all over the US. He even walked runways and then started an acting career. He moved back to LA to live the life of the rich and famous again, even if it wasn't the same on his own.

But then, he found the girl of his dreams. Megan had been amazing. The blond haired, blue eyed model was everything he ever dreamed of. They got married after two years and soon she was pregnant. Both of them were busy, but they were happy. At least, that's what he thought back then.

"Mr. Diamond?" He looks over at his door and smiles warmly towards his assistent Gina. A young girl, in her early twenties. She is sweet, although naive, working for him, even though her goal is to become a model herself. "I just wanted to inform you that you still have that meeting at 3PM." She tells him with a nervous smile of her own.

He tries hard to surpress a chuckle. He watches as she stands in the doorway, trying to give him a pose.

"Was that all?" He asks her, amused at the blush that adorns her cheeks. She knows he is fully aware of what she is doing and clears her throat.

"Uh, yes. Would you like me to get you some coffee, sir?" She asks him, strutting forward into his office like the floor is a catwalk. He sits back in his chair and raises his eyebrows.

"Coffee would be great, Gina." He tells the poor girl with an amused smile. Her smile falters and she nods, before walking back, her shoulder slumped in defeat. He chuckles to himself and shakes his head.

He turns his chair and sighs in content at the view greeting him through the enormous windows. Being the boss of your own company sure has its perks.

Yes, James Diamond is no longer a model/actor. He is a rolemodel now for teens who had the same dreams he had once. He is now the owner of James Diamond Modeling Agency. Some people would never believe it if they heard it. James, running a company? But he learned a lot from his mother. She helped him financially in the beginning. But pretty soon, his company was gaining attention all over the country and he was all set.

He turns his chair back to face his desk when his phone beeps. He presses the intercom button.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Diamond, Miss Duvont is on line 3 for you." Gina's voice rings through the speaker. He raises his eyebrows in confusion. Wasn't she getting him coffee? But then he realizes who the caller is and his good mood falters. His lawyer. He sighs.

"I'm kind of busy right now." He tells his assistant and gets ready to let go of the button.

"She says it's urgent." Gina tells him and he groans. Of course it's urgent. Megan has probably come up with a new way to mess up his life.

"Put her through." He tells the girl and closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before picking up the headset and placing it on his ear.

_Ten minutes later…_

James is standing up, looking very aggrivated. One hand is on his hip, while he paces back and forth with the headset still attached to his ear.

"No, you listen to me; Megan is the one who didn't want him, okay? She left him, she left us. She left Nathan in my care. She didn't even want him and now she wants full custody?"

He listens to the other person responding.

"But she can't do that! I already gave her half of everything I had in the divorce. How can she ask for even more now and custody of our son?"

"He is five years old already. She hasn't come to visit him once. Not once! So how can she even suggest something lke that? No judge will ever give her that, right?" He stops walking when his lawyer responds.

"You're kidding me, right? So, because she's his mother, she has the right to request full custody of a son she has never paid attention to. One she gave up the minute he was born and said she wanted nothing to do with. Even then she might be able to get him, because she's his mother?"

"But that's bullshit! No, Lana. He is my son. I am not just giving him up to that greedy whore! She's only doing it to hurt me. She doesn't care about him, she never has. I have been taking care of him for five years. I have been raising him since day one and he is doing fine. He doesn't need her."

"Oh, what could she possibly hold against me?" he smiles, but it falls away immediately and his mouth falls open in shock. "What? She actually said that I'm never home? How would she even know that? I don't even talk to her. And besides that, I do take care of him. He is doing just fine."

"What? What do you mean he is misbehaving in school? No, he's not. If he was, I'd know about it, now wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm his father."

"No, I will not calm down." He yells, throwing a pen through the room with all his strength. "Look, you just worry about stopping her from doing this. I am raising him just fine. He doesn't need her. Just contact her lawyer and stop her before she takes it to court. Even though I know that she'll never win anyway." He takes the earpiece out and puts his hands on his desk, leaning forward to try and calm himself down.

"Mr. Diamond?" Gina's voice hesitantly calls from the doorway. He screams and she quickly closes the door to avoid the earpiece thrown her way. It shatters on impact and she winces.

He slams his hands down on the desk.

Okay, so maybe not everything was so great in the life of James Diamond. He was happy with Megan once. But it all turned out to be a lie. She never cared for him. She had been after his money all along. And when she found out she was pregnant, she had hoped he would walk out on her or force her to have an abortion. She hadn't expected him to be so happy with it.

So she did the next best thing. She pretended she was just as happy. But when the baby was finally born, she couldn't keep up her act any longer. The moment she was home, she packed her things and left. She never even said goodbye. The only contact she made again was filing for divorce, during which she sued him for everything he had.

He had been devastated. But then he remembered he actually had a son to raise now. Which led to him making the decision to move out of LA and back to his hometown in Minnesota. There he started his own company and a new life with his only son, Nathan.

They have been living together in Minnesota for five years now. Things were going great. But now suddenly, Megan is back in the picture. She actually wants full custody of Nathan, accusing James of not taking care of him properly. She is going around, telling people that Nathan is a spoiled brat, who acts out in school and misbehaves constantly.

It aggrivates James immensly. How dare she come off saying he's a bad parent? She left him. Yes, he does work a lot and isn't home much. But he is only doing it to give his son a decent future. He does take care of him and he has hired the best staff in his house to help him.

He's not a bad parent. He's just busy. Nathan is happy. He's a good kid. Yes, he acts out now and then, but which child doesn't? He's only five, for god's sake.

The nerve of that woman. How dare she come back into their lives like this. And for what? Because she's still upset that James didn't give her the life she had hoped? Because she had only gotten away with half of his possessions during the divorce settlement?

No, this is the battle she will never win. Because he is a good dad. A great dad, even. Sure, maybe he could try to be home more. Spend some more time with his son. But Nathan is happy. And that's all that matters.

_That evening…_

James had to work late once again that day and comes home after dinner time, at 8:30PM. But to make it up to Nathan, he already brought with him a huge teddy bear he had Gina pick up from the toy store. Nathan loves teddy bears. He smiles when he walks through the door of his mansion and is greeted by Sebastian, his personal butler.

"Good evening sir." The man greets him with his English accent and James smiles.

"Good evening, Sebastian. Is Nathan still up?" He asks, already heading for the stairs.

"I'm afraid not, sir. His bed time passed at 7:30." Sebastian informs him. His smile falters slightly and he longingly stares up, but stays downstairs.

"Oh. Well, what's for dinner?" He asks, putting on another version of his smile and following his butler into their much too large kitchen.

_An hour later…_

James quietly ascends the stairs and tiptoes towards his son's room. He smiles when he opens the door and sees his son peacefully sleeping in his bed. The room is lined with teddy bears, one of which the five year old is currently clutching in his tiny hands.

James watches him for a little while, like he has been doing for all five years of watching his son grow up. Being the child of two models, the boy is very handsome and one day will make all the ladies swoon. Like his father had done years ago. Well, still does. He smiles to himself.

"Daddy?" A tiny voice suddenly snaps him out of his thoughts. He looks up and notices his son's sleepy blue eyes staring at him from his pillow. He cruses inwardly and then tiptoes into the room.

"Shh, just go back to sleep, okay?" He tells the sandy haired boy and pulls the covers closer over his tiny body.

"Why weren't you home for dinner?" The boy asks dejectedly, looking up into his father's eyes with innocence and some confusion.

James smiles. "I had to work, Nathan. You know that." He tells the boy, gently brushing a strand of hair out of his face. "How was school today?"

"I got a note from my teacher." Nathan tells him, looking down at his hands and letting out a yawn. He then reaches out towards the backpack on his nightstand and pulls out a piece of paper. James' eyebrows furrow in confusion, but he takes the note and unfolds it.

"It says she wants to meet with me." He says, his eyes on the paper. "Did something happen?" He asks with concern as he looks at his son again.

Nathan only shrugs and plays with his teddy bear.

"Do you have to work again tomorrow?" He then asks, a hint of sadness in his voice.

James sighs. "You know I have to, buddy." He says, ruffling his son's hair. His son doesn't look at him. He pulls up his chin. "Hey, I'll be home before you know it. Oh and I got you something." He says, excited when he remembers what he brought home. He rushes out of the room and comes back. Nathan looks at him with curiousity when he holds something behind his back.

Then he pulls out a huge white teddy bear.

"Tada! What do you think?" he asks, sounding completely excited. "Just look at how pretty he is." He goes on to explain exactly why the bear is so beautiful, never noticing the look of disappointment on his son's face. He doesn't even notice that the smile his son gives him is one of the many fakes ones he'll learn to put on like his father. A trait he picked up early on, from the moment his father started disappointing him.

"Well, I'll just put it with the others. You just go to sleep now, okay? I'll call your teacher tomorrow to make an appointment. Night, bud. Sweet dreams." James kisses Nathan on the forehead and tucks him under the covers, before placing the fluffy teddy bear on the ground with all the others. He carefully heads out into the hallway, casting one more fond glance at his sleeping son, before leaving for his own bed.

_A few days later with Nathan's teacher…_

James sits in the classroom, facing the teacher with some confusion. She sternly watches him as she tries to explain once again what has been going on.

"Mr. Diamond, I like your son, we are very fond of him. But he is not very nice to the other children here. He grabs their toys away, only to surround himself with them, as if to show them he is the only one that can have them. Not to mention he is very rude to them, ordering the other children and the teachers around to get him things. He refuses to do his homework and has tried on several occasions to bribe the teachers by giving them stuff I don't even know where he got them from. Just so they won't punish him." The older woman watches the father in front of her. Concern is etched in her eyes. She sighs deeply as she watches the young father stare at his son playing in the corner, deep in thought.

"Mr. Diamond, again, I like your son. We all do. But he can not keep behaving this way. Someone will need to explain to him that his behavior is not acceptable. If he doesn't change his attitude, I'm afraid we have no choice but to refer him to a different school."

James looks at her after the last comment with big eyes.

"No, that won't be necessary. I uh… I'll talk to him. I'm sure it's all just a big misunderstanding." he tells her, putting on his best charm and smile to go with it.

The woman stares at him with a look that shows she's not sure if she can believe that. She sighs again, before getting up. James quickly gets up as well and holds out his hand. She grabs it and they shake slowly.

"Let's hope so, Mr. Diamond." She tells him with a stern look. Her eyes give off a gentle warning. His smile falls away and he nods.

"It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Halford. And thank you for taking care of my son. I appreciate it." She nods this time and watches as he gently puts a hand on his son's back as they start to walk out of the school. She shakes her head in sympathy for the poor boy. She can't help but feel sorry for him. But it's out of her hands now.

As James drives home with his son, he is lost in thought again. He can't help but think back at all the things the woman told him. Nathan was giving out order to children? Bribing teachers, just so they wouldn't punish him for not doig his homework? Why would he act like that? He never acted that way at home. At least, not during the time that James saw him. He would have to ask Sebastion or Jenna, the nanny if he ever acted that way around them as well.

He looks at his son in the rearview mirror as the boy plays with his toy trucks from the backseat.

Nathan was happy, wasn't he?

"Hey, dad, look!" His son's voice pulls him out of his thoughts once again as he stares at what he's pointing at. "It's a moving van."

Sure enough, there is a moving van at a cozy looking house that is situated not far from his mansion. He looks at it as he drives past, trying to see who the new people are. But all he can see are the men helping to unload boxes.

"I wonder who they are." Nathan says, sounding curious and excited as his hands are on the window and he excitedly tries to see if he can see anyone.

"Yeah, me too." James ponders as they drive on to their own house.

**A/N Wow. I haven't had this much inspiration since Big Time Bonding. And I haven't written in the middle of the night since… Well, I can't remember ever doing that, actually :P Kind of weird, but oh well.**

**Maybe I'm just trying to get over my sucky holidays and even suckier birthday, which is today. Yeah, I have gotten a lot of birthday wishes already. But only because I told people it's my birthday today. Sucks, because I'm spending it alone. So downloading all the BTR episodes right now, so I can have a marathon tomorrow. I'm just going to enjoy the day and then sleep through the stupid New Year's celebration, like it never existed in the first place. **

**Enough with my ranting :P Glad to see people already liking this story after just posting the prologue. All the guys will be getting their own chapter like this, so I'm hoping you like it. Also hoping it's not too confusing, since everything is told throughout the chapter and not in just one go. Going for a bit of surprise element, I suppose :P**

**Anyways, let me know what you think :) Thanks for the reviews so far and would love to have any feedback on my writing, so I can improve :) Oh and if you have any requests for the other guys, just let me know ;) But I do have a lot of ideas already for this one.**

**Happy New Year's Eve, people and until next time!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	3. Chapter 2 Paging Dr Mitchell

Chapter 2 Paging Dr. Mitchell

It always takes hard work and patience to live out your dreams and Logan Mitchell was no exception in this. Ten years it took him, but now people finally call him Dr. Logan Mitchell.

Sure, he had to make sacrifices to get here. It took saying goodbye to his friends, going through a long six years of college, living off of every penny and spending little time with his family to become as succesful as he is now. But it was all worth it. Every day he walks into the ER ready to help people who are hurt and make them all better.

Yep, he is living the dream… Right?

Sure, he doesn't have a lot of friends now, besides some high strung colleagues at Minnesota Memorial. And maybe he doesn't spend a lot of time at home. But he has to earn money. He has to take care of his family. Everything is how it's supposed to be. This has always been his dream and he is happy, isn't he?

Well, he always thought he would be. But then again, he always hoped he could have children of his own. But unfortunately that wasn't in the cards either...

When Logan left LA, he was distraught for a while. The fight with his friends left him in shambles and it took him some time to get over it. He stayed with his parents and his little sister, who all tried to cheer him up and help him move on. But his friends weren't the only ones he found missing. There was one more person he loved more than anything and he didn't even realize he left her until he was off the plane again.

But he didn't call her right away. He couldn't. They weren't even together anymore. Well, not at that moment anyway. Logan had had an on and off relationship with Camille Roberts for years. And the last time, he was the one who screwed up. He couldn't tell her how he really felt, so she was driven into the arms of another man, Steve. He never resented the guy. It wasn't his fault. But as much as he tried not to get upset with Camille, he couldn't help his heart breaking into a million pieces.

That was why he was so surprised when she called him a month after he left. He never heard her sound so upset. He never realized how worried he had made everyone when he turned off his phone. He just wanted some privacy. He figured some people would try to contact him. But he never expected 101 missed calls from Camille.

He called her immediately and they talked for five hours. Their connection was back to where they started and within five months they were a couple again. This time it was for the long haul. It was long distance for a while, but then she made the decision to move out to Minnesota to be with him. He couldn't believe she did that, but she told him that he was more important to her than her acting career.

She stayed with him throughout his entire six years of medical college, even when their finances were as low as they could be. While he continued to learn, she took on every job she could, eventually settling for a job as a drama teacher at the local high school.

They got married a month after he graduated and tried to start a family immediately. But this didn't go as easy as they had hoped and after a year of trying they found out that Logan was unable to have children. Camille didn't want to know about sperm donors, so they were set to have a life without children.

Camille soon started looking into adoption possibilities, but he wasn't interested. It was noble to give these children a chance. But he always noticed the sadness in her eyes when she saw young families walking through the street. It was something he couldn't handle. Which was exactly why he was working a triple shift once again in the ER ronight.

"Yo, Mitchell!" He lifts his heavy head slowly and sighs when he sees his colleague Marshall Williams walking up to him. He has a big smile on his face and Logan has to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he refocuses his eyes on the charts on the desk in front of him.

"What do you want, Marshall?" He asks grumpily as he flips through the documents of new patients, carefully trying to decide which one to treat next.

"Oeh, someone is a little tired, huh? When did you even go home last night, dude?" This time Logan does roll his eyes at the immature ways of the young man next to him. "You did go home, didn't you?"

Logan sighs and looks up again. "What do you want, Marshall?" He repeats, sounding more annoyed now.

Marshall's smile doesn't falter. The eagerness in his body reminds Logan of a friend he used to have… He shakes his head to whisk the memories away.

"Ok, you see, I have a super hot date tomorrow night with that new night nurse. You know the one, Angie, with the long legs?" Logan just blinks at him. "Anyway, I kinda have a shift tomorrow, but she can't make it any other night. So, I was wondering, maybe you could…" Logan looks at his files again and interrupts the man's rambling.

"Sure." Marshall stops talking right away and looks at his colleague in confusion.

"You didn't even hear my question."

"Didn't need to. I'll trade shifts with you, it's no problem." Logan tells him, all the while not looking at him. Marshall furrows his eyebrows.

"No, man, I was hoping you could talk Brans into switching with me, since you get along with him so well." Marshall explains and LOgan looks up.

"You don't need to switch with him. Switch with me. Problem solved." Logan tells him and grabs another chart to look through. Marshall suddenly grabs it from hs hands, making Logan look at him with a questioning look.

"No offense, dude. But I think all of us would agree that you shouldn't take on another shift. In fact, you should just go home for a week or two. When wasthe last time you even took a vacation?" Logan tries to grab the file from Marshall's hands, but he uses his height to his advantage and keeps the chart from his reach. Logan sighs.

"I don't need a vacation, I like working." He argues. Marshall raises his eyebrows. "I'm fine. Just give me the chart."

"Logan, if you were fine, would you really be looking through the charts of dead patients?" Logan stops reaching for the folder and furrows his eyebrows. He quickly grabs one of the other charts on the nurse's station and opens it. He shakes his head and throws it down again, quickly grabbing a second chart. He reads it in disbelief. Marshall sighs beside him and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Look. Why don't yo put these down." He tells the exhausted doctor and gently tkes the folders from his hands, handing them to a nurse. "And go home for a few days. Just rest."

"No, I'm fine. I can work." Logan argues again, but Marshall grabs his shoulder and starts to steer him towards the locker room.

"Yeah and maybe you should look in a mirror sometime." Marshall tells him with a sympathetic smile. "I get it, you don't want to go home for som reason. But dude, you're starting to freak out the patients." Logan looks up in disbelief. "Seriously, why do you think you haven't had any patients for the last two hours? Someone actually asked me if you were okay…"

When they are inside the locker room, Logan lets himself sink onto one of the benches.

"Just go home, okay? Grab a cab, take care of whatever is forcing you to come here every night and taking triple shifts every week. Rest up and come back fresh and ready to be a doctor again, alright?" Marshall pats his shoulder and heads out into the hallway, leaving Logan alone with his thoughts.

After a while he stands up, annoyed that he let a kid like that push him over. Marshall is just antsing to become the best doctor and show to everyone that he himself can't handle things. He feels anger boiling and stands up, ready to get right back to work. He'll show that immature, unprofessional little boy who is the better doctor in this hospital.

He stalks towards the door, when he catches his reflection in a mirror. He stops and hesitantly steps back. He is shocked at what he sees. His skin looks pale, his eyes are bloodshot with dark circles underneath. He looks exhausted, sick even. Okay, so maybe it is time to go home. Slowly he steps away from the mirror and takes off his white doctor's coat. He places it in his locker and grabs his own jacket.

When he has all of his stuff he quickly exits the locker room and heads for the door. His colleagues look up from their patients and throw him a quick approving nod along with a genuine smile. He hesitatingly smiles back and heads outside, keeping his head low.

He walks through the parking lot, ignoring the gusts of cold wind sweeping across his face. He hardly feels it anymore. He doesn't even remember reaching his car until he finds himself sitting inside, doors closed.

He sits there for a while with his hands on the steering wheel, but not ready to start the car. Because that would mean he needs to go home. He knows he shouldn't even be behind the wheel anyway right now, but he is fine. Sure, he's a little tired, but he can handle himself. The only reason he's going home is because he doesn't want his reputation to go down the line for being tired on the job.

He sighs and puts his seatbelt on, before starting up the car. It revels to life and he slowly takes off. He turns on the radio quietly, enjoying the soft tunes filling his ears.

"Afternoon, folks. Here's a classic for all you lovers out there; this is Bryan Adams with Everything I Do." Logan groans and switches the station.

"Welcome back to our top 100 love songs.." Logan quickly switches again.

"And now here's a fan favorite of our boyband top 50; Worldwide from Big Time Rush". Logan's eyes grow wide and he switches the radio off all together. He drives on in silence.

It's not that he doesn't love Camille anymore. He loves her as much as he did the first time he met her. But he knew that she was disappointed in him. How could she still love him? He couldn't give her the one thing she had always wanted; children of her own. He can see it in her eyes every time he faces her. She has always assured him it's not true. She does love him and she doesn't care about not having children, as long as she's with him. But he can see the longing and the pain in her eyes.

The thoughts run through his mind every day. The only time he is able to stop them is when he's working. Being at home with his wife just hurts too much. When he does come home, he makes sure he is very late and that she's already sleeping. Unfortunately, she's a light sleeper and always wakes up when he lies down. But instead of kissing her hello or talking to her, he turns his back to her and pretends to be asleep himself. He can hear her sigh and do the same thing.

It's not that he wants to hurt her. He knows he is pushing them apart. But this way it will be easier for her, easier to let go and to go looking for someone who can give her what she needs. It will make everything more painless. Well, at least that's what he tells himself every day.

The thoughts keep on going. Suddenly, he hears the soft tunes of 'Worldwide' floating through the interior of his car. He looks at the radio, but the screen isn't lit. He looks around, but can't figure out where the song is coming from. Slowly, he starts to hum along to it and without realizing it, a smile starts to appear on his face. His thoughts go back to a time when things weren't so complicated. He was living the life with his three best friends in LA, not a care in the world. His friends… he wonders what they're doing now?

A loud ringing interrupts his thoughts, growing louder and louder. Where is it coming from? He looks around, but everything around him is black suddenly.

"What the…" His voice trails off and he tries to see what's in front of him. But there's nothing there. He has to put his hands on his ears as the loud ringing is increasing ever so much. He starts to scream right along with it, when…

He suddenly jolts up and opens his eyes. The loud ringing is still there, but it's his own car, alerting him that the car has stopped moving in a dangerous area. He fell asleep… He lifts his head from his steering wheel and slowly looks around. The car has come to a standstill in the middle of the freeway. Cars passing him honk loudly. He holds up his hands in surrender and mouths an apology.

His heart is beating insanely fast and he fumbles to start the ignition again. He runs a hand through his hair as he starts to drive again. That was crazy… Maybe he should try to sleep more.

This time he does turn on the radio and makes sure to switch to a rock station, just to keep himself awake.

It works as he finally starts to reach more familiar looking surroundings. The neighbourhood he grew up comes into full view. He drives down the streets and tries to ignore the pain in his own heart when he recognizes old familiar faces with their own children. He sends some forced smiles to the people who see him and wave. He quickly turns his head forward when he almost misses a turn.

His heart feels heavy once again when his own street becomes visible. He slowly drives down and keeps his eyes on the plain white house in the middle.

He stops the car a small distance away and watches as Camille tends their small garden. She is smiling with her hair tied in a messy bun. She wears overalls, which are already dirty. But she looks happy as she sits on her knees and plants a new flower.

He sighs as he watches her. He smiles a little and vows to stay right there, but he knows he will have to face her sooner or later. So he slowly starts the car again and heads for the paved driveway. When she notices him, she looks confused and stands up rigth away. She takes off her gardening gloves and makes her way to the car.

Logan takes one last deep breath before stopping the car and getting out.

She greets him right away. He puts on a small smile and lets her hug him and kiss him on the cheek.

"Hey, you're home early." She says, sounding a little confused.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Why? Is that a problem?" He asks her and she frowns.

"No, of course not, I'm just not used to you coming home at this hour anymore. I mean, it's still light out." She says, chuckling a little. He just looks down and her own smile disappears. There it is. The awkwardness that has been around them for weeks now. Did he cause it? Maybe. But he has his reasons. There is just no other way…

"Well, uhm… Why don't we head inside and I'll make us some sandwiches?" She offers with a new smile. He nods with a smile of his own. But neither are real, neither smile reaches their eyes. Camille heads back to the garden to grab her gardening supplies, while Logan heads for the front door. They are about to open it, when a large van drives by. Camille looks up.

"Huh. It's a moving van. I didn't know we were getting new neighbours." She muses. Logan follows her gaze and scrunches his eyebrows.

"Neither did I…" he trails off as they watch the moving van drive down the street.

**A/N Hi! First of, I am so sorry for not updating this long. I have been very busy with school and I had writer's block as well. I finally have a break from school now, but I did get a new job. I will try to update again soon, but all this crazyness with school blocked my creative inspirations. So bear with me as it slowly returns ;)**

**Thanks for all of your support on my stories and I hope you haven't forgotten about me yet!**

**Too bad the guys aren't performing in Germany these couple of days. I don't live too far from there, but I'd rather go see them live then chasing them through Cologne. I'm past all that (my Backstreet Boys days, don't ask ;))**

**Anyway, I was glad to see a new episode for them last night. Wasn't my favorite, I have to admit. It seemed a little rushed and overdone. Didn't get the sudden romances in the end either. But I guess they needed one episode, so they could tie the show and the movie together. Glad to hear that the movie will have less sound effects, because it's a little much lately.**

**For now, I am just waiting for the movie to come out. And by the way, so happy for Carlos to finally admit his relationship with Samantha Droke. It must have been hard to hide it all this time. Am sad to hear about all the bad reactions he got, but that was the reason he kept it a secret in the first place, so I'm guessing they knew what would happen.**

**Now, back to the story :P Let me know what you guys think, I still like this story :) Will continue the others soon, but for now, I hope you liked my Logan chapter. Can you guess who's next? And who are the new neighbours Logan and James saw?**

**Until next time!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	4. Chapter 3 Kendall

Chapter 3 Kendall 'Slapshot' Knight

Kendall Knight hasn't been himself for a long time. He always cared for his three best friends and when Gustavo Rocque offered to take him to LA and make him famous, there was no doubt in his mind that he wanted his friends right there with him. It was never his dream to become famous, at least not through singing and dancing. Kendall had always dreamed of becoming a professional hockey player. But he always knew; sometimes opportunities come once in a lifetime and you have to grab it and make it big time. So, he did.

In the beginning it was a lot more fun than he anticipated and all four of the guys turned out to be good at it. Sure, they argued sometimes, but they had always been like brothers, so it wasn't new. And sometimes things were less fun, like when his girlfriend Jo left to shoot a movie for three years. But they were becoming successful, doing world tours, selling albums. Things were great.

Then somewhere along the line, the happiness started to ebb down. The four friends had always promised they would never change. They would always stay the four hockey heads from Minnesota, no matter what happens. His three friends did catch the Hollywood Fever once, aka homesickness, but Kendall had managed to stay himself and with the help of others, they managed to remind the other three where they came from. This time, it wasn't that simple. Kendall just didn't feel happy. Everything annoyed him and while he always had a big mouth, he couldn't help but lure out fights with everyone around him. He couldn't figure out why and he couldn't stop it either.

This is what started the biggest fight he had ever had with his three buds and ended up costing him their friendship and his job. He wasn't sure what or who had started the fight, but in the end he had had enough and decided that Big Time Rush was no more. If he had been himself, he would have cared deeply and would have done anything to get his friends back. But he was done and decided that they had simply grown apart and didn't feel like trying again. They had all given up, every single one of them. None of them fought to keep the friendship going, so why should he?

He immediately headed back to Minnesota, not even waiting for his mom or sister to follow. From the money he made with Big Time Rush, he stayed in a hotel temporarily, stubbornly waiting for his family to follow. He didn't even flinch when his mother started to yell at him and he didn't care how his sister ignored him for nearly two months. He hardly listened to all the things his mom yelled about and just headed for his room and turned up the volume of his stereo as high as it could go.

That was ten years ago. In those ten years a lot of things changed. When he started to feel better again, he started up his hockey career again, falling right back in a comfortable routine. Playing hockey made him feel good, mainly because he soared when he was on the ice. He started a career in college hockey and soon stepped into the professional field by becoming a part of the Minnesota Wild team.

And within the same ten years he was finally reunited with the love of his life, Jo. After her movie deal was over, she quickly reached out to him and they fell in love all over again. At first they tried a long distance relationship, both working on their careers. But as Kendall's career was taking off promisingly, Jo's career seemed to fluctuate and she couldn't get anymore jobs. Kendall tried to convince her time and time again to move to Minnesota, so they could start a life together. It took about four years, but then she finally gave in.

While Kendall kept moving up as a star player of the Minnesota Wild, Jo kept looking for a job and eventually found a career as a kindergarten teacher. It was never the direction she saw herself in, but since her acting career just wasn't going well, she was ready to try something new. And as it turned out, she loved her work and soon had a strong craving to have small children of her own.

Kendall's busy sports career kept him from home a lot, but the couple had a solid connection and stayed strong throughout all the hectic moments. Both were happy and things were going great. Kendall was doing so well, he earned himself a nickname; Kendall 'Slapshot' Knight.

He was happy and still so in love with Jo, that soon he was ready to take the final step; marriage. The two tied the knot after being together for three years. And even though Kendall's life wasn't slowing down, their first child was born after their first year of being married, a boy, Kaycee. The second one followed two years later, another boy, named Marshall.

Everything was moving like a fairy-tale, the two beautiful blonds living happily ever after. Which was exactly why it was extra hard when things fell apart.

It was a Friday night when Minnesota Wild had a big game at their home base. Since their second child was still only a few months old, Kendall's family decided to stay at home and watch the game on the television. Kendall's mom and his busy sister Katie, went over to keep her company.

The first half of the game went smooth. Kendall scored three times with his famous 'slapshot' and dedicated all of them to his family at home with a heart sign directed towards the camera. They all cheered him on and he soared over the ice. His teammates slapped him on the back when they reached the locker room and it couldn't go better. The second half should go just as great, the coach just wanted everyone to keep up their game and pass their pucks to Kendall.

When the second half started, the entire team noticed a change in the game plan of the opponents. Within ten minutes, two of their players were placed in the dugout for slamming a Minnesota Wild player into the boards from behind. The other players and even the crowd booed, while the coach tried to communicate with the referee and the other team's coach. The game quieted down a little after that. People started to enjoy themselves again.

But then came Kendall's big moment. The last two minutes came on the clock. Kendall's heart was beating right out of his chest when the puck was passed to him. This was it. The game could be won by this last slapshot. He had to make it.

He looked at the clock, while his teammates defended him and cleared the ice around him. He skated forward, keeping his eyes on the goal. He picked up his stick to take the final shot. When out of nowhere a black figure came at him. He tried to ignore it, but it was hard to ignore the hockey stick slamming down with full force onto his knee.

He went down at once, screaming in agony and holding onto his leg. Everything went quiet. No one even responded when the buzzer sounded to end the game. Even the opposing team shook their heads in disappointment, while the coach dragged the now laughing player off the ice. This was clearly not something planned by them. It was a personal attack, one no one could believe.

Kendall's family had been cheering him on happily all this time. But at that moment they all sat in front of the TV, speechless at what they just witnessed. They watched as paramedics flooded the ice and loaded the blonde clearly in pain onto a stretcher. Jo's hand flew to her mouth while tears pooled in her eyes.

The small children stared in confusion while their mother silently started to cry. Jennifer Knight didn't waste any time and turned off the TV, quickly grabbing the children to put them to bed. Katie sat with her sister-in-law, trying to comfort her as much as she could. When Jennifer came back into the room, they still sat in silence and shock at what had just occurred. It couldn't be real… Jennifer instructed Katie to take Jo to the hospital as fast as possible, while she stayed to watch the children.

They rode in silence, both in shock and filled with worry. At the hospital they were greeted with the other players, still in their uniforms and looking sad and worried. They stared at Kendall's wife as she walked through the hallway, heading for the coach at once. The friendly older man nodded at her and directed her to the door on his left side. Her breath hitched when she saw him. He wasn't looking her way. He just laid there, staring out into space, his leg held high and his knee in a large brace.

She knew he hadn't received good news. She took a deep breath and headed inside carefully. He pulled his head up when he heard the door. Tears filled his eyes right away and she was at his side in seconds.

She held him tightly as he relayed to her what the doctor had told him only moments before. Not only would he need numerous surgeries, but also his kneecap was completely shattered and might not ever fully function again like it should. In other words, walking would be difficult, but ice hockey would be impossible.

In one whole minute, that other player had shattered his kneecap and his dreams and future right along with it. No more hockey. His career was over, just like that. He would need a cane to walk around for the rest of his life. How did this happen?

The other players were devastated. They felt so bad for him and wished they could do something for him. The coach wished the same. But he knew that no matter what he did, he couldn't do the one thing Kendall wanted, to put him back on the team. This was it.

That night was the moment Kendall started to change once again. He went from a hockey star on the rise, happy with his family, to a hockey dropout, dreams taken away from him and forever attached to a cane. He couldn't look anyone in the eye. As soon as he knew he was off the team, he made himself invisible to the media and everyone else surrounding it and the sports industry. Not that he needed to do a lot of work. Because as soon as people got wind of him never playing the sport again, they dropped him like a sack of potatoes.

Kendall just stated that he didn't need them or anyone else for that matter and thus, he started to push everyone away. That included the family and friends around him.

That was two years ago. People have tried to bring him back to his old ways, but he can't be bothered. It was like he has given up on life completely and not even his small little family can cheer him up. Every day he just seems to drag himself along, going through the motions, but he's never really there. Jo just doesn't know what to do anymore. Their relationship is just empty now and she doesn't feel happy anymore. She's ready to give up on him just as he has on everything and everyone around him.

Kendall sits in the living room, watching TV like a zombie. He stares ahead, not even really looking at whatever is on the screen. He sits on the couch in sweatpants and an old sweater. He hasn't bothered to really get dressed in a long time. Shaving is also something he hardly does anymore. A small unkempt beard is present on his face right now, but he doesn't care. The dark circles underneath his eyes show how utterly exhausted he is.

He takes a small sip of his bland coffee and lets out a deep sigh.

"Daddy?" He hardly turns his head towards his youngest son's voice.

"Hm?"

"Will you teach me how to thow a ball?" The small dark blonde boy looks at his father with hopeful eyes. Kendall wants to chuckle at how the little one still can't pronounce the 'r'. But like with all other emotions, he is unable to express how he feels.

"Sure, buddy." He tells the boy, who squeals in delight. The two year old runs off to grab a light green ball that he can hardly hold in his little hands. His green eyes so much resemble those of his father. The only difference is, these tiny orbs shine with happiness and curiosity. He watches the mini version of himself and his mind wanders back to his own childhood. God, how things were so much easier back then. But that was when he still had dreams, when he knew what he wanted to do with his life.

The little boy throws the ball towards him, missing him by a mile. Kendall follows the ball as it bounces on the ground. He looks back at his son, whose lip is already quivering. Kendall frowns.

"No need to cry, bud, let's try again." He tells the boy, trying a small smile his way. The boy watches with curious eyes as his father stands up and hisses as he puts his full weight on his injured knee. He grabs the black cane next to the couch and hobbles towards the ball.

Marshall watches him with big eyes filled with wonder. His father moves back towards the couch and sits down before slowly rolling the ball on the floor towards his son. He in turn grabs it with both hands and excitedly tries to throw it again, his tongue sticking out for effort. But once again, the ball veers off to the left side. Before Kendall has time to stand up, the front door opens.

Marshall rushes forward.

"Mommy!" He excitedly yells and runs into his mother's arms. Jo hugs him and lifts him off his feet, before setting him down again. "Look, mommy, daddy is teaching me to thow the ball." He holds the green ball in his hands with a large toothy grin. She smiles at him and then shifts her look towards her husband and her smile fades slightly. Their eyes lock for a moment, before she adverts her gaze and looks around with a frown.

"Kaycee?" She turns around and steps back out the open front door, watching curiously at her eldest son who seems frozen in place as he stares at something. "Honey?" She calls out as she steps closer. "What are you looking at?"

He turns around and nearly takes a step back as she looks at the spitting image of her husband. The dimples in his cheek, the long chin, the big eyebrows. The last part she felt bad about, but it never made Kendall look less attractive, so that would be okay.

"I think the new family is moving in." He mentions to her and turns back around, staring off in the distance again. Jo walks closer towards him and frowns as she tries to find the target he is looking at.

Right there, about three houses away, a moving van has stopped and furniture is already being unloaded from the back.

"Who do you think they are, mom?" He asks her.

"I don't know, sweetie. I didn't know we were getting new neighbours."

"Do you think they have kids?" He asks again, sounding a little excited. She smiles down at him. Of course he's be excited about that. There weren't many other kids in the neighbourhood, so it would be fun for him to meet new people and maybe make some new friends.

"I don't know that either, honey. Why don't we get inside, it's getting a little cold out here." She tells him and tries to turn him towards the house.

"Mom, look! It's a swing set. They do have kids!" Kaycee excitedly yells as he points towards the moving people who are indeed walking through the fenced yard with part of a swing set.

Jo frowns when she watches two other movers pull part of a red swirly slide out of the truck and proceed to move it through the front door.

"Yeah, I guess they do." She trails off. "Now, get inside and wash up. I'll make us some sandwiches."

"Yay!" He squeals and runs inside the house. She smiles as she hears him cheering all the way.

She stares at the house in the distance a while longer, before heading inside herself and closing the door behind her.

**A/N Another long time for me to update, I know. Again, my apologies. I'm trying, but I just don't have as much time left as I thought each day, with my full time job and all. **

**The next chapter I will have our families meet the new neighbours, but the few people who reviewed were right after all ;)**

**Sorry for sounding so cryptic. I've been so positive the last few days and yesterday I felt at peace with myself and my life. But tonight I feel a little down again. I worry too much about wanting to be friends with people who apparently don't feel the same way. I feel like I'm getting stuck in a rut again with my new job, which is far from the creative path I want to take. But enough about my personal issues :P**

**I want to thank the few people who have reviewed this story so far. I have a lot of ideas for this story, so many that I'm having difficulty choosing ;) **

**But once again, I will do my best to update soon, but I'm not promising anything. **

**It was great btw hearing that the guys were so close in Europe these past few days. I live in Holland, so they were really close. But for me, the chasing them for an autograph days are over. I am however hoping to meet them someday in another way and seeing them in concert **

**And lastly, I am so happy for Carlos to finally admit having a girlfriend on TV everywhere. He seems so much happier, so much more at peace with himself. And is it me or has he been losing a lot of weight recently? I'd love to know his secret ;)**

**Okay, closing off now :P But let me know what you thought of this chapter **

**Love, Baxxie**


	5. Chapter 4 Welcome to the Neighbourhood

Chapter 4 Welcome to the Neighbourhood

It seems like the whole neighbourhood livens up when new people move in. Suddenly people start to jog, walk their dogs and their kids and all conveniently move past the simple, but cosy house. Furniture is still being carried in, but the children are more interested in all the colourful equipment that is being set up in the backyard. Their parents don't mind them playing so close to the fence, because they want more information.

Who are these new people? Why hasn't anyone seen them yet? What will they be like?

The only thing they have been able to deduct is that they have children. Or at least, that is what they can assume with all the toys being moved inside. They'd rather not think of another option.

But the curious things is that they don't know anything else. Even the nosiest people of the street can not figure out who the new neighbours are. It has never happened before, which makes this all the more mysterious and interesting.

This is the reason that Camille Mitchell finds herself working in the front yard more than usual. Just so she can try to catch a glimpse of the mysterious strangers. She has planted two flowers at least six times already and she knows other people have noticed. But nobody cares. They are all waiting for someone to find out more. After realizing she is about to replant the same flower again, Camille has had enough. It's time to take action. It's a nice Saturday morning. The sun is out and she has nothing planned. Logan is off to work and she has the house all to herself.

But what fun is it to go snooping when you have to do it by yourself?

Moments later she finds herself knocking on her best friend's door. Jo Knight immediately smiles and greets her friend, inviting her in right away.

"So, any news?" Is the first thing she asks the blond, who shakes her head. They walk into the living room, where another blond is sitting on the couch. "Hello Kendall." is all she can utter.

"Camille." Is the only reply she receives in return. She is used to it. Jo and Camille always kept in touch. So when both suddenly found themselves moving to Minnesota, this didn't change. Not even when their husbands refused to speak to each other. It made dinner parties impossible, but it didn't stop the women from meeting up and chatting without them.

They quickly move into the kitchen.

"You want something to drink?" Jo asks as Camille sits down at the kitchen table.

"Sure, whatever you're having." She answers with a smile. Jo soon sits down and hands them both a steaming mug with tea.

"Okay, so how much do we know so far?" Camille asks with an eager smile.

Jo chuckles. "Well, I do know that they seem to have kids. If it is a 'they', maybe it's a single parent." Camille nods in confirmation. "They brought in multiple toys and play sets for the backyard. This could mean that they are friendly and happy to invite other children. Plus; Kaycee and I saw them haul in parts of a red swirly slide yesterday." Camille's eyes grow while Jo smiles.

"No..." She gushes.

"Uhuh." Jo nods.

"But wait, they hauled it into the house? Not outside?" Camille asks. Jo shakes her head, keeping a knowing smile on her features. Camille's eyes grow in realization. "You don't think..."

Jo shrugs. "I don't know. But I've never heard of anyone else who would install a swirly slide inside a house." Camille sits back in her chair in slight shock.

"Wow... If that's true, than all four guys are back in the same neighbourhood." Jo nods again. "But, we don't know for sure."

"Yeah, that's true." Suddenly, Camille's eyes twinkle and she leans forward with a mischievous smile.

"I guess we'll have to stop by and find out." Jo smiles and nods her head in agreement. Camille claps her hands. "I think this calls for your famous chocolate chip muffins." She announces, before starting to head for the kitchen cabinets.

"Maybe we should just make some corn dogs. If it really is him, he'll come running to us." Jo mentions with a chuckle. Camille chuckles as well.

"True. But what is he is married and his wife is home alone?" Camille muses.

"Good point. But, he would never marry anyone if she didn't like corn dogs as well." Jo answers in return.

"That is an excellent point." Camille tells her friend.

"But just in case, let's go with the muffins. I mean, who doesn't like chocolate chip muffins?" Jo gushes and Camille squeals in delight before starting to rummage through her friend's cabinets to find the right ingredients.

About an hour later the entire Knight house has the aroma of freshly baked muffins sifting through. The children have come to watch the baking going on in the meantime and are now happily munching on a muffin of their own at the kitchen table. Jo is putting the remaining muffins in a basket, but leaving one on a plate on the kitchen counter.

"You're not going to bring it to him?" Camille asks her, pointing towards the treat.

"If he wants it, he can get up and get it. He's not cripple and it's about time he finds that out for himself." Camille nods her head in astonishment. "Now how about we go and get to know the neighbours?" Jo announces as she holds the basket in her hands. Camille smiles and the women head for the front door.

"Camille and I are going to welcome the new neighbours. Don't know when I'll be back, there's a muffin on the kitchen counter if you want one. Ad the kids are in the kitchen." Jo announces to her husband as they open and close the front door, not giving him a chance to respond.

Camille looks at her in slight bafflement as they head on their way to the newest family on the block.

"Wow, Jo. Good for you that you're standing your ground. How are things between yo anyway?" She asks, some concern etched on her features.

"The same. I just don't know how to handle him anymore, Cammy. I've tried everything. But it's like he doesn't care. I don't know. Maybe he doesn't love us anymore." Jo muses with a long sigh.

"Oh honey, I'm sure that's not it. Kendall still loves you and the kids. I think he's just lost and he doesn't know how to find his way back. Have you tried therapy, like the doctor suggested?"

"I've tried to bring up the subject, but he won't even hear me out. He seems to think that he doesn't need any help and that everything is fine." Jo tells her. Camille sighs.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I wish I could give you any other advice. But don't just give up. I'm sure the real Kendall is still in there somewhere." She offers with a smile. Jo smiles back.

"Thanks, Cammy. How are you and Logan doing?" She cautiously asks.

"Well, nothing has changed. I work in the garden and teach drama and Logan is at the hospital all day and tries to avoid me whenever he is home." She tells her friend with a tired sigh.

"I'm sorry... I guess we could both use some extra help, huh?" Jo mentions with a smile and puts an arm around her friend's shoulders. Camille returns the gesture and together they walk up to their destination. The house looks simple from the outside, just a nice family home. Not too big, but not exactly small either.

The two friends know that the house has been empty quite a while. It seems the old owners couldn't get it sold. Until now, of course. They look around for a doorbell, but can't seem to find it. Camille quickly knocks as loud as she can. Jo laughs and lightly shoves her, making Camille look at her.

"What? I want to make sure they can hear us." Is her defence.

"Yeah, but now they might think someone's coming to attack them or something." Camille rolls her eyes and is about to knock again when the door flies open.

"I'm sorry, I was in the kitchen. How can I help you?" Jo and Camille look up to see a woman their age with dark hair tied up in a ponytail. She has dark blue eyes and a slightly tanned skin. Her slightly swollen stomach reveals that she is pregnant at the moment. She eyes them with a friendly smile.

"Uh, hi. I'm Camille and this is my friend Jo. We just wanted to welcome you to the neighbourhood." Camille tells her with a smile.

"Yes and we brought a housewarming gift; freshly baked chocolate chip muffins." Jo offers with a bright smile, holding out the basket.

The woman's eyes light up immediately like an eager child.

"Are you serious? You made these? For me?" She asks and Jo nods. Suddenly she squeals in delight, making Jo and Camille chuckle. She quickly grabs the basket and sniffs up the aroma. She sighs deeply in content. Then she seems to realize the two people standing in front of her again. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You must think I'm insane. I'm Delilah." She holds out her hand and both women shake it. "Well, come on in." She leads the way into the house and the other women follow right away.

"I'm sorry for the mess, we're still busy unpacking. My husband took the kids to my parents, so they don't get in the way. Would you like something to drink?" She asks as she walks towards the kitchen.

"Do you have any tea?" Camille asks her as they follow her into the kitchen.

"Yes, we do. Thank god you drink tea, I was afraid you'd ask for coffee. We never drink coffee, so we never buy it." Delilah explains. In the meantime, she puts the basket of muffins on the counter and takes another whiff of the smell. "My husband is going to love you. These smell amazing."

"They taste good, too." Camille offers and Jo laughs. Delilah looks for mugs in one of the boxes, while Jo and Camille look around as much as they can.

Boxes are lined up everywhere, some already unpacked, but most still stacked up. The house already seems cosy and very child-friendly, despite all the boxes and emptiness. Jo suddenly pokes Camille, who looks at her. The blond points at something in the living room. Camille looks and smiles knowingly at the large part of a yet to be installed red swirly slide which lays in the living room.

"So uh, you're installing a swirly slide in your house?" Jo asks as both women accept tea from Delilah.

"Oh, that. Yeah, our kids begged us for it." Jo and Camille share a look.

"Kids, huh? How many do you have?" Jo asks her.

"Three right now, including a set of twins. And number four is on it's way." She says with a loving smile and rubs her stomach affectionately. Camille smiles longingly, so Jo quickly changes the subject back.

"And all three wanted the swirly slide inside?" Jo asks her.

"Well it's kind of hard to resist those huge puppy dog eyes." Delilah muses as she sips her tea. "My husband's I mean." She mentions suddenly.

Camille and Jo both look at her in surprise. "Your husband?"

"Yeah, when I say the kids begged for it, I mean, my husband made them beg me. Because he knows I would have never agreed to it if it was just his idea." She informs them. Both women share a look and they start to grin.

"What's your husband's name?" Camille boldly asks.

Just then the front door is heard opening and closing.

"Deedee?" A male voice shouts through the house.

"In here." The woman yells back while Camille and Jo wait on the side. Their eyes go wide when they watch her husband step into the kitchen.

"And how are my favourite girls doing?" He asks lovingly as he greets her with a kiss and puts a hand on her growing stomach.

"How are you so sure it's another girl?" Delilah asks him and he smiles.

"Hey, I've been right so far, haven't I?" She shrugs.

"Oh, honey, I almost forgot. We already got our first welcome present." She mentions with sparkling eyes as she points to the basket. The man walks over and peers inside. He cheers and doesn't waste time grabbing a muffin and starting to eat it.

"Oh wow. Best welcome present ever." he mentions with his mouth full of food.

"First of all, don't talk with your mouth full and secondly, it's the only present we've gotten so far." His wife tells him. Camille and Jo watch the couple in amusement.

"I don't care, it's already my favourite." He mentions as he starts for a second batch.

"Well, then maybe you should thank the women who brought it." She tells him as she points to the very amused looking Camille and Jo on the side. He turns around curiously and his eyes grow wide. Soon the muffin in his mouth falls to the floor as he looks at the women in shock.

"Hey Carlos! Long time no see." Camille chirps happily. Jo waves.

**A/N Yeah, I know. Wasn't a shocker ;) But I hope you still liked the chapter!**

**Much more to come, so stay tuned **

**Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, favourited and read the story. I really like it, so look out for more chapters soon!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	6. Chapter 5 The New neighbors?

Chapter 5 The New neighbors?

Carlos stares at them for a while, when Camille and Jo share a look of amusement.

"Well, don't we get one of your famous Carlitos hugs?" Camille asks and holds her arms open. This seems to wake the Latino from his trance. A huge smile makes it way to his features.

"I… Yeah, of course…" He mumbles and hurries over to pull each woman into a tight hug, which makes them both giggle. Delilah just eyes the moment in confusion.

"Uh, wait, let me get this straight. You know our new neighbors?" She asks her husband, who stands across from her with his arms around the two smiling women.

"You remember how I told you about Palm Woods?" he asks her.

"You mean that apartment complex for the future famous?" She says with an amused smile.

"Yeah, they used to live there too as actresses." He says, looking at both of them with a grin.

"Those were the good old days." Jo muses and Camille nods in agreement. Carlos furrows his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" He asks them.

"Well, I'm drama teacher at Duluth high now." Camille tells him.

"And I'm a kindergarten teacher." Jo adds. Carlos' darts his eyes from Camille to Jo in confusion.

"But you were both doing so well. What happened?" He asks them in genuine concern.

"Well, when I got back from New Zealand, Hollywood wasn't very interested anymore." Jo explains.

"Yeah and I just decided that it wasn't me anymore." Camille adds, not saying anything else.

"So you both just up and moved to Minnesota?" the Latino asks them, sounding confused. Camille and Jo exchange looks and then hold out their hands. He stares at them when it seems to dawn on him. He drops his arms from their shoulders and moves to stand beside his wife.

"Right, I should have known about that." He states and gives a small smile. An awkward silence follows. "You married Kendall and Logan…" He quietly mentions and the two women nod semi happily. "Of course you did."

"You know, we always wondered what happened that day. I mean, you guys were suddenly gone. You never said goodbye." Camille tells him with a sad smile.

"Yeah… I uh… I had my reasons…" Carlos tells them with his head down.

Delilah watches the awkward exchange for a moment, before clearing her throat.

"Okay uh, who is up for some sandwiches?" She announces excitedly and clasps her hands together.

"Uh, I could go for one." Jo answers, holding up her hand. Camille still eyes Carlos, who is still looking down and seems to be lost in thought.

"Honey, would you like one?" Delilah asks him quietly. He looks up.

"Huh, what?" She smiles at him.

"You want a sandwich?" She asks again sweetly. He looks up with childlike eyes.

"With grilled chicken?" He asks hopefully. She chuckles.

"Yes, I'll put grilled chicken on it." She tells him and pecks his cheek. He smiles warmly and watches her walk towards the fridge. He casts his eyes down again. When he looks up he finds Camille staring at him with a smile.

"What?" He asks her.

"The way you look at her. You really love her, don't you?" She asks. He looks towards his wife again, who is animatedly talking to Jo and smiles.

"The moment I met her I knew she was the one." He tells her as he keeps his eyes on his girl.

"I'm so glad to see you so happy, Carlos. I really am." She says in return.

"And you?" He asks her.

"What?"

"Are you happy?" He asks her. She looks at him in surprise, while he watches her with concerned eyes.

But before she has a chance to answer, Delilah and Jo suddenly whip out a plate of sandwiches and hand them to the two. Carlos and Camille keep their eyes locked, until the curly haired brunette looks away thoughtfully.

"So, where did you guys live before this?" Jo suddenly asks while everyone enjoys their sandwich.

"Oh, we lived in New York when we went to college and after graduating we just didn't want to leave." Delilah tells them as she lovingly leans into Carlos.

"But you left now..." Camille starts, when Jo interrupts.

"Hold on, hold on. Before we go there… Carlos. You went to college?" The blond asks in feigned shock. Delilah starts to laugh, while Carlos smiles and shakes his head.

"Yes, I went to college." He defends, while Delilah keeps laughing. He sends her a mock glare.

"What did you study?" Camille asks. He sends a small glare towards his wife when she snickers.

"Would you stop?" He asks between chuckles of his own and turns his attention to the other two women. "I went to the NYU for a design course."

"Design, huh? So what do you do now?" Jo asks him with curiosity.

"I design comic books." He tells them. Their smiles fade and they watch him carefully.

"Are you serious?" Camille asks. He frowns.

"Yeah, I am." They still stare in slight shock. "What?"

"I just… I don't…" Jo stammers.

"You actually became a superhero." Camille blurts out. Delilah bursts out laughing, while Carlos smiles with furrowed eyebrows.

"What?"

"Well, you always said you were going to become a superhero after Big Time Rush. I never thought you'd actually do it." She explains, while Jo nods in agreement.

Carlos looks towards his wife in confusion, but she just continues to laugh.

"So, which comic book is it? Is it in stores yet? Is it famous?" Jo and Camille ask him and he chuckles.

"Uh, it is in stores actually." He says, biting his lip, while Delilah grabs something from a box inside the kitchen. She pulls out a comic book and hands it to Jo and Camille. Their eyes grow big as they look at it.

"You're kidding, right?" Jo asks him.

"You designed this?" Camille asks. He nods sheepishly. "You designed this comic?" She asks.

He looks down, blushing, while his wife puts her arms around his waist and leans into the crook of his neck.

"Oh my god… My kids are going to scream when they find out I know the guy who designed their favorite comic." Jo tells him. He just blushes more.

"I can't believe you are behind the Monkey Dogs comics. I mean, even my students talk about these. They're hilarious." Camille tells him.

"So if this is what you were doing in New York, why would you move here?" Jo asks. Carlos and Delilah exchange a glance.

"Well, we just wanted to go somewhere quieter to raise our family. I mean, since it keeps expanding and all." He mentions before kissing his wife on the forehead and putting a hand on her growing stomach.

The two women gush.

"You guys are so cute together." Jo comments, while Camille just nods.

"Oh, I have an idea." Delilah suddenly pipes up. "Let's all have dinner tonight. You guys can bring your families and we can all sit around and get to know each…" She trails off when she notices everyone's smiles wearing off at once. "What?"

The women look at Carlos, who is looking away again. "Uh, you know what? I'm afraid we can't make it tonight. I mean, I'd be available, but my husband is very busy." Jo mentions.

"Yeah, my husband works in the hospital. You know doctors, always busy." Camille adds in agreement.

"Oh. Right. I just thought it would be fun. But I guess we could do it another time." Delilah mentions, sounding a little disappointed, but putting on a smile nonetheless.

"Yeah. Or we could have dinner with just us." Jo offers.

"Yeah." Camille nods in agreement. "We could just leave our husbands to their busy lives and have dinner between the four of us."

Delilah looks at Carlos, who gives a small smile, but they can all tell he's struggling with something.

"Uh, you know what? Maybe we should do that, but another night then if you don't mind. We still have a lot of unpacking to do. It wouldn't be very cozy to have dinner among stacks of boxes, right?" She jokes with the women. They smile, but throw Carlos a worried look.

"Of course, that's fine." Jo says, nodding her head and waving her hand.

"Totally fine. Any other night is fine with us. We live on the same street, so, you know, we can visit one another whenever we want." Camille mentions. She wants to slap herself when she sees Carlos' eyes widen in slight shock at that. "Or you know, we could just come over here." She laughs awkwardly.

"yeah, absolutely. You can come over anytime you want." Delilah offers as she walks them to the door.

"Maybe next time we can meet the kids." Camille suddenly mentions. Jo throws her a look, but she ignores it and smiles at Delilah.

"Definitely. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to meet everyone in the neighbourhood. I mean, they do take after Carlos, so they like people." She says with a smirk as she opens the door. Carlos comes to stand behind her and wraps his arms around her. She puts her hands on his and sighs in content when he puts his head on her shoulder.

The two women stare for a moment, before really turning around.

"Carlos, it was really great to see you again. Next time, I want some details on what you've been up to these past ten years." Jo tells him and he just grins. "And Delilah, it was great meeting you. I'm looking forward to having that dinner and gossiping about Carlitos here." Delilah laughs at that.

"Well, there is plenty to talk about then." She says and chuckles when she sees the playful pout on his face. The women walk ahead and they all wave, before the couple closes the door.

Camille and Jo walk further a little bit and then stop.

"Wow… I can't believe that was Carlos…" Jo mentions.

"I know. In ten years, you'd think he'd look a little different. But it's same old Carlos." Camille agrees.

"Well, minus the helmet." Jo adds, when Camille looks up in realization.

"You're right. I can't believe I didn't even notice that." She tells her friend.

"There were too many other things going on. I mean, his wife is absolutely beautiful and she seems really nice." Jo gushes.

"She really does. They are such a cute couple. I wonder how long they've been married?" Camille wonders.

"Who knows. We'll find out next time. But he seems so happy. It's just so great… I mean, they don't seem to have any problems. It's like they're leading this perfect life." Jo says, sounding a little bitter.

"I don't know about that. I mean, you saw how upset he got at even the mention of Kendall and Logan." The brunette contemplates. "After all these years, I still have no idea what happened that day. But I have a feeling Carlos hasn't been able to let go."

"That's for sure." Jo agrees. "Hey, do you really believe that they moved out here to settle down?" She asks and both friends turn around and look towards the house again.

"Not for a second…" Camille mentions.

"Yeah, me neither…" Jo says in agreement. They both ponder over the subject a little. "Well, I better get home, before Kendall starts to freak out."

"Yeah and I should get started on dinner. Not that I'm cooking for more than one person, but still." Camille says before sighing. Jo eyes her friend with sympathy.

"Hey, remember that you're always welcome to come and eat with us, Cammy." She says, putting an arm around her friend's shoulder and squeezing it affectionately.

"I know, but seeing as how Kendall doesn't react positively to me anymore, I'd rather not impose." Jo nods in understanding and draws her friend into a hug, before both head for their own houses.

Back at the new Garcia residence, Delilah has gone back to unpacking boxes in the kitchen, while Carlos has started in the living room. They are close to each other still.

"So uh, do you think we should tell them the real reason we moved here?" Delilah asks her husband. He looks up for a second, before reaching back inside a box and pulling out some candlesticks.

"It's not exactly a conversation starter, is it?" He says with a chuckle. His wife doesn't join him.

"Would you rather have them find out in another way?" She asks him. He looks up, smile wiped off his features and sighs.

"It's been ten years. I didn't even know they were living here." He defends.

"Carlos, you grew up here. There were bound to be people in this neighborhood who know you." She tells him.

"Yes, I know that. I was just hoping I wouldn't run into anyone this soon." He explains and Delilah sighs this time.

"Just don't forget, we have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday." She reminds him.

"Yeah, I know…" He says softly. She walks up to him and wraps her arms around his neck, before kissing his forehead. He closes his eyes for a moment.

"It's gonna be okay." She quietly tells him. He nods and smiles a little, before sharing a sweet kiss with her. They put their foreheads together and stay like that for a moment, before she suddenly licks his cheek. He looks at her in amusement and wipes his cheek in an exaggerating manner. She looks at him challengingly, slowly walking away. He starts to walk towards her and in one moment, sweeps her off her feet and to the ground. She squeals and starts to laugh as he tickles her, while he just laughs with her.

**A/N Hm… can anyone guess what that is about? I'll give you Carlos' phone number and have him call you maybe? ;)**

**Anyway, a little shorter chapter than usual, but a lot more to come next time. Let me know who you want the next chapter to focus on and I'll do my best to comply! And if you have suggestions, criticism, ideas, whatever, or just want to talk to someone, just leave me a PM or review **

**Or, you know, go to .com/ and talk to me there ;)**

**Until next time guys, all your support makes me smile I'll get right on to replying to your messages this week, but I'll be working, so it might take some time. Thank you to everyone and have a good week and enjoy the concerts some of you are going to go to!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	7. Chapter 6 Bouncing around

Chapter 6 Bouncing around...

Katie Knight had always had big dreams. They involved large sums of money and the idea of managing huge celebrities. She knew she could do it. She could get anything done and everyone knew it. Whether it was by use of her puppy dog eyes, a trait learned from her big brother Carlos, or by using her evil side, the trait learned from Kendall, her brother by blood.

Scheming was her biggest asset and some people feared her. But she did get the job done, which was why everyone wanted her as their manager when she finally set up her talent agency 8 years ago. She proved just how good she was by single handedly organizing Russel Brand's beach party over 12 years ago. He tried to refuse her. After all, he couldn't have a ten year old for a manager. But she proved him wrong and in the end he was the first to sign a contract with her.

She was eternally grateful to her four big brothers, although only one blood related, for allowing her the chance to go to LA with them. With six years age difference, they all looked after her in their own way. They knew she could take care of herself. Heck, they even called her in for help sometimes when they needed a plan against their evil record producer Gustavo or the company manager Griffin. Even though they went there for the guys to become a band, Katie used the opportunity to get her own dreams realized.

Her first experience with Russel Brand launched her name into Hollywood. People were skeptical at first, laughed at her for even trying. But she never gave up. And after a while, they started to realize she wasn't just a teenager, a kid. She was the manager to have if you wanted to make it big. And one single phone line in their Palm Woods apartment eventually lead to Katie Knight Talent Agency with hundreds of celebrities and more wanting to sign on every she had to put a stop to all the entries and now everyone has to go through a difficult selection procedure and even then be placed on a long waiting list.

It is hard work, but she is loving it. Life in Hollywood is everything she ever wanted. Well, almost everything. She misses her family. And she especially misses her four brothers. Logan, the smart one, who could always help her with homework assignments and play dangerous pranks on the others. After pranking himself each year, he decided to team up with her, which lead to her becoming Lord of the Pranks for the last consecutive years. Which wasn't long, since every one of the guys succumbed to the Hollywood Fever soon enough.

She also missed James, the pretty boy, who only seemed to care about himself and how he looked. She knew differently, though. She knew his overprotective side when it came to her and dating. It was something she hated, but loved at the same time.

Then there was Carlos, the lovable goofball of the bunch. He wasn't the smartest, but his caring and goodhearted nature more than made up for it. Whenever she was feeling down, he was the one to cheer her up. Plus, she loved the way he asked her for help. There were times where she was the one who was protecting him from being so trusting and gullible all the time. But she also knew he did it on purpose at times, to give her a chance to not be treated like a child and someone needed her to be the big sister. She was grateful for it. And he gave the best hugs. Which she didn't like. At all. Okay, so she really missed them. But once you had a Carlitos hug, you could never go back.

And Kendall, the only one who was actually her brother, by blood. Despite their age difference of six years, they were close. He protected her, like all of her brothers. But he also let her see how talented she was and made sure she felt special and loved. It was hard when their dad died, but Kendall had stepped in right away as the new father figure and man of the house. She had looked up to him as he also became a leader figure for the other guys.

But that is what made it all the more difficult to understand why he started to change. She had seen the others get Hollywood Fever before. Kendall had been the one to bring them back. But as they all went back to normal, he seemed to succumb to the pressures himself. He became bitter, lashing out at everyone and even worse, starting fights with every person around him. The others weren't helping. None of them seemed happy to be there anymore. Not even the usually ray of sunshine Carlos, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. But Kendall became a person she couldn't stand being around anymore. She knew he didn't really hate everyone. The fame just got to him and all the people who said yes all the time clashed with his personality. He liked aggrevating people. But when he started to get his way all the time, he got bored and had to get his rush somewhere. His friends were the ones who had to suffer.

James became Diva like, something Katie despised. He complained about everything and like he cared about himself too much before, that was nothing compared to then. The fame really went to his head and Katie didn't feel like being around him anymore. He acted like he was better than all of them. It was something she tried hard to get him to see, but he never did. Not until it was too late.

Logan really just seemed like he didn't want to be there anymore. He enjoyed it at first, but Katie could see how hard it was becoming for him to remain happy. She had always known it wasn't his dream. Heck, everyone knew that. But she thought he was at least happy with it, because he was good at it. But in the end, he just couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't put up with the partying and the performing and the photo shoots. It just started to bring him down

And then there was Carlos. He never seemed down, he just wore a smile all day long. At least, that's what everyone thought. But Katie saw the way his smile vanished the moment he closed the door of their apartment. The way he slumped down into the couch and let out a huge sigh. He was exhausted. It was hard for him to handle the Hollywood life. Having to be friendly to everyone usually wasn't that hard. But he easily read people and finding out how fake everyone was wasn't easy. He tried to remain positive, he really did. But she could see how hard it was becoming. He used to have his friends to pick him up. But since they all seemed to have their own problems, even Carlos smiled less. She tried to help him and give him the hugs he used to give her. It helped a little bit. But not even the greatest hug in the world could have cheered him up the moment he came home to find out his three best friends had abandoned him.

Katie remembered that day vividly. She met with Dak Zevon for lunch as she was still trying to convince him to sign with her. They had become good friends, but Dak was satisfied with his current manager, so he didn't see the need to switch. She wasn't aware of the trouble waiting for her back home. As she said her goodbyes and left for the Palm Woods, she started to feel it. Something wasn't right...

_Flashback..._

_The further she stepped inside, the more she could feel it. Something happened. She could sense it even more when people started to whisper among themselves upon seeing her. Even Bitters kept staring at her like he wanted to say something. What was going on?_

_She hurried into the elevator and pressed the button for her floor. Her heart was pounding in her chest. _

"_Come on, come on..." She growled as she willed the elevator to move faster. When the doors finally opened, she practically ran out, nearly knocking over another resident in the process._

_She ran for the apartment, noticing right away how the door was slightly ajar. She opened it and her mouth fell open. James stood in the middle of the living room, picking up small items as his suitcases stood by the couch, fully packed. She could hear yelling from one of the bedrooms, but for the moment kept her attention on the boy in front of her_

_Her mother walked after him, pleading with him not to go. They could work this out, they had fought before. But James just kept going, ignoring her pleads with a hard look._

_When he had all his things, he picked up his suitcases and started for the door._

"_James?" She was surprised at how small her voice sounded. She saw him freeze. He looked directly at her and she could see the apology in his eyes._

"_Katie, I..." He started and she slowly walked closer._

"_Are you going to live in a different apartment again until the fight is over?" She asked with hope in her voice and eyes. But when he cast his eyes away from her, she knew._

"_Oh..." She softly said. _

_Just then she heard the bedroom door opening. _

"_Fine, just leave then. Like I care!" Kendall's voice yelled loudly through the now open door._

_She looked behind James and saw Logan, suitcases in hand. He looked angry, but the moment he saw Katie, his eyes softened._

"_You're both leaving?" She asked, her eyes darting between the two. She noticed how they exchanged a glance and then glared and looked away. Logan sighed and then headed for the door._

"_Thanks for everything, Mrs. Knight. I'm sorry about this. I'll uh, I'll call you when I land." He told the woman, who already looked distraught. She nodded, not able to say anything else. She knew it wouldn't make a difference._

_He walked towards the door, where Katie still stood, ready to stop them. Hurt and anger flashed through her eyes. She searched his, trying to find any hope in getting him to stay. But the moment she looked at him she knew this was it. This was the moment she didn't want to happen._

_He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't. He knew this was bad. He just sighed again and sent an apology to her through his eyes, before heading out. _

_She watched him walk away in disbelief and then turned back towards James. He was shuffling his feet and already looked apologetic. She shook her head._

"_Katie, I'm sorry...I..." He started, but she just kept shaking her head._

"_No, you guys can't do this. You can't just leave. What about your lifelong friendship? You said you would never let this town change you. You can't go... This was your dream, you're just going to give up?" She asked him. He swallowed thickly and looked at his feet._

"_I tried, Katie. But things changed, we changed. Maybe it's time for something different." He softly told her. She just looked at him in shock._

"_But you've always wanted to be famous... And now you're finally here, you want to throw it away, just like that?" She asked him in confusion. He sighed and closed his eyes._

"_I did want to become famous, just not like this... I'm sorry, Katie, but I have to go..." He softly told her and headed for the door. _

"_James, please don't leave..." She pleaded with him. he sighed again and let go of his suitcases for a moment, before giving her a hug._

"_I promise I'll call you. Take care of yourself, Katie." He told her, before letting go. She watched him slowly walk towards the door. he looked back one more time and then with pain in his eyes walked out the door._

_Katie looked at the empty doorway with wide eyes and then turned around towards the open bedroom. She tensed up her jaw and curled her hands into fists, before stalking over to the room, ignoring her mother's pleads to stop._

"_What did you do?" She angrily asked as she stepped into the room. She was going to say more, when she notice her big brother angrily shoving clothes into an open suitcase. "Are you going after them?" She asked, her anger dying down a little._

"_Nope. They can go to hell for all I care. I am going back to Minnesota." He told her, which got her anger to flare up again._

"_You're kidding, right?" He didn't answer her and just kept throwing things in his bags. "You're just going to leave? Just like that?"_

"_Not just like that, Katie. They made it pretty clear they don't want to be here anymore, so why should I stay?" He asked her and she opened her mouth in shock._

"_Because it's your job to keep them together. You've done it before. You've fought and they left and you went and fixed it. It's what you do." She reminded him. He sighed._

"_Well, not this time, little sister. It's over. Big Time Rush is done and so is our friendship." He explained._

"_And you just decided that? Without even trying to talk it out?" Kendall rolled his eyes and sighed loudly._

"_Katie... It wasn't something we just decided. I saw this happening a long while ago. It's surprising we held on this long." He told her._

"_No, I don't believe that. If you knew beforehand, why didn't you do something?Why didn't you talk to us about it?" She asked, still sounding shocked at how nonchalantly her brother seemed to handle the situation._

"_It wouldn't have made a difference." He told her, before closing his suitcase and getting ready to leave. "We already decided, it's over. There's nothing anyone can do about it." He said as he started to drag his suitcase out into the living area._

"_And all of you agreed on it? It took you what, five minutes?" She asked him, still sounding angry._

"_Yes, we all agreed on it and no, it didn't take us five minutes. This was building up for months and... Why am I even explaining myself to you anyway? We already decided on it. I'm going back to Minnesota to play hockey, Logan is probably going to be a doctor," he said in an angry tone. "James will be a model or whatever and Carlos, I don't know. But who cares anyway, because he walked out first. So why don't you talk to him, he started all of this." Katie looked exasperated and followed him as he walked to the door._

"_Why would Carlos walk out? Did you say something? Because I honestly don't believe he would be the one to..." Katie started, when Kendall stopped her._

"_Katie!" he called out angrily. She looked at him with wide eyes. "It doesn't matter who started it, okay? I'm going home. Join me if you want, don't if you feel like staying, I don't care. I just know I don't want to say here." He said, stopping right before the door opening. "Mom, I'm sorry for not waiting for you guys, but I just can't stay here another minute. I'm going to go catch my plane. I'll let you know when I get there and I'll just see you there." He told his mother, who still couldn't believe everything that was going on. Katie watched as he took out his phone and typed up something, before looking at her once more and walking out._

_Katie turned towards her mother._

"_Why didn't you stop them?" She said, but not even waiting for an aswer before stalking towards Carlos and James' room. She opened her mouth to yell, when she realized the room was empty. She frowned when she saw all of Carlos' stuff was still there. She turned back with a frown and looked at her mother. "So, where's Carlos?" She asked. "Kendall said he walked out first, so where is he? His stuff isn't even packed." She said, sounding a little confused, but also still angry._

"_I-I don't know... He hasn't been here, it was just them..." Her mother said absentmindedly. Katie rolled her eyes and headed for the door as well._

"_I'm going to go look for him. Maybe he can do something to fix this." She said, sounding annoyed, before turning on her heal and walking out._

_She looked everywhere, asked all the other residents, but no one had seen him. How was that possible? Just as she was about to head for Bitters, she suddenly saw him. She raised her eyebrows at the huge cheerful smile on his features. How could he be happy at a time like this?_

_She watched as he hurried through the lobby, never even noticing her, before quickly following. The elevator doors shurt just before she could get in, so she rushed for the stairs._

_She ran fort heir apartment, ready to yell at Carlos, when she saw it. She stared at her mother questioningly and then bac at the broken form of her once so cheerful older brother as he sobbed in the middle of the floor. Her mother looked helpless as she tried to calm him down._

"_But I don't understand why they would do this? They wouldn't leave without me..." He sobbed, breaking Katie's heart. _

_End of flashback..._

When Carlos told her what really happened in the studio, Katie was even more furious. She couldn't believe her brother could have lied to her like that. Carlos never started it. He did. She wanted to yell at him, punch him for doing this to one of his best friends. But instead, she made sure to stick with Carlos and help him as he tried to deal with everything. She watched him deal with the press, the record company and then, the fans... He tried to keep a smile on his face, but she knew he was breaking down on the inside.

She helped him packed up his things as they finally decided to leave. But instead of coming with them to Minnesota, Carlos wanted to clear his head. So, he called his own brother and planned a backpacking trip through Europe. She was proud of hi mand even though she'd miss him, she knew he had to do this. Because he was the only one who didn't have any sort of future planned out for after BTR broke up. He just didn't think it would happen. He had hoped they would say together forever. But now he was ready to find himself and he promised to keep his little sister posted with postcards from every country and a phone call now and then.

Her mother and Katie left for their old home, against all of Katie's wishes. She cold feel the anger boiling up again the closer they got tot heir destination. Kendall was going to pay for this.

The moment they stepped in, she had felt so angry, she couldn't even speak when she saw him. So she just headed up the stairs and then listened as her mom yelled out all the frustrations she couldn't.

But it all fell on deaf ears. He never even heard anything his mother had yelled about. He just tuned her out and when she stopped he bluntly askd if she was done and left for hockey practice. Katie had never seen her mother so angry. She actually started to clean...

She knew her and her brother were a lot more distant now. It wasn't lke she wanted it that way. But everytime she saw him, she remembered Carlos heartwrenching sobs at The Palm Woods. So they both went their seperate ways. Katie started to build contacts for her own agency, while her mom looked for a new job and Kendall started to become a star hockey player.

One thing that did put a smile to her face were the postcards she received from Carlos. He kept his promise and sent her cards from every country he visited, accompanied with a full story of what he had done there. She loved reading them and looked forward to them every time. But then they came less frequent. She couldn't figure it out, until he once sent her a picture of him and a beautiful girl, hugging closely. She understood right away and just felt happy for him. They tried to stay in touch, but eventually it died down and all she had was the postcards.

She realized he had gotten over his heartache and decided it was time she did the same. She stepped towards her brother and hugged him, catching him off guard immediately. But then he wrapped his arms around her and they let go. They let go of all the hurt and anger.

Katie felt happy again and started to come to Kendall's games to support him. It was after one of those games when she was reunited with another older brother. Logan Henderson. She wasn't quiet sure what to say, but the awkwardness faded as soon as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. She jus laughed in surprise and looked up in shock at all the happiness radiating off of him. They talked for about an hour, him conveniently avoiding the subject of her brother or their friends. He asked about everyone else though. He talked proudly about going to medical school and finally following his dreams.

She was glad he was doing well. But she couldn't ignore the hurt she felt at the thought of all the guys being happy without each other. It wasn't supposed to be like that. But they all seemed happier without the others, without the boyband keeping them from following their true passions.

The only person she hadn't seen yet was James. And it took a few years for that to happen. She did hear from him in the meantime, keeping track of how successfull he was. She was already living in LA again and had set up her agency. She was meeting a new client for lunch when he stepped in. He looked exactly the same as she remembered. Well, besides the blonde bimbo attached to his arms. She observed them with a frown. Even during her meeting she couldn't stop looking over and feel disgusted at the way she fake laughed at everything he said. James seemed happy, but he really hadn't changed one but. He was still far too trusting. She wanted to go over and tell him how stupid he was being, but then she remembered they hadn't seen each other in about five years. That wouldn't have gone over well.

But as they stood up,she couldn't help but gasp loudly when she saw the matching wedding rings on their hands and her huge stomach. How did she not notice that before? She just stared shamelessly and unknowingly as everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her in return. It took for the pregnant woman to stand directly in front of her to shake her out of it. She looked up and smiled sheepishly. But then her eyes met the brown ones of James, who looked at her and was trying hard to figure out how he knew her.

"It's me, James." She told him with a smirk and watched as he paled. His eyes widened and he nearly fell backwards in shock.

"Katie?" He stammered and she just nodded. He practically ran over and picked her right off of the floor, spinning her around happily. His wife wasn't as happy as she stared in shock and disgust at the display in front of her. Katie just giggled like she was ten again. "My god... Look at you! You're so... You're all grown up..." He said, seeming tot hink about the past. Katie smiled and shrugged.

"Well, had to happen sometime." She said and blushed as he started to compliment her on how amazing she looked. He immediately pulled up a chair to her table and they started to chat animatedly. Katie couldn't fake her happiness at how James was completely ignoring his furious wife and devoting all his attention to her instead.

She had wanted to tell her all about what a fool he was, being with that woman. She didn't love him. Anyone could see that from a mile away. But she got caught up in just talking to him again. They were both caught up so much that they didn't even notice how everyone left around them. They never even noticed when James' 'lovely' wife left. When the manager informed them it was closing time, they just laughed and headed outside. They exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch.

That was the last she heard from him. Not that she was that surprised. She found out later that his wife had been the reason behind i tand she had been right all along. The moment their son was born, she ran off, leaving James to take care of the boy by himself. She didn't blame him for leaving Hollywood behind once again. And she wasn't surprised when she found out he had already changed his number when she finally got the courage to call him.

She misses all her brothers now. She still looks at the postcards Carlos once sent her once in a while and smiles. She knows he's happy. But she wishes he would just let her know anything.

She remembers her encounter with Logan and despite talking to him later and even going to his wedding, their contact also died down. It was only logical, since she wasn't in Minnesota often anymore. And her mother told her of what was going on between him and Camille.

Her mother also told her James was back in town. He set up a company there as well and seemed happy. She wants to just go over and talk to him. But after all this time and the way last time went, she just doesn't have the courage anymore.

And Kendall... After fighting so long, they had become close again. All up until he had that accident and now? She doesn't even recognize him anymore. She can't believe how he has turned away from everyone, from his own family. His own kids are practically ognored by hi mand Jo is in so much pain. But he can't see that. He's just so stubborn!

It hurt to leave again and it hurt even more to decide to not visit Minnesota for a while anymore. Her mother undrstood. Kendall didn't care. Which was what she expected anyway.

But she still misses it. And after spending about three years in Hollywood again, she decided she wants to see them all again. She feels happy and is confident. She can do this.

She arrived in the middle of the night and feels at peace, sleeping in her old bedroom again. Tomorrow she'll go out and face them. She is ready to see James and talk again. She wants to see Logan and try to help him see that what he is doing is hurting Camille. And then there's Kendall. Him she just wants to punch some sense into...

She sleeps with a smile on her face, feeling content. The house is quiet.

But then a loud sound slowly awakes her from her slumber. She sleepily opens her eyes and groggily looks around. She groans as she hears it again. A thud or a bouncing noise of some kind. She puts the pillow over her head, but the sound continues. She groans and pulls the sheets away before getting up. She stalks towards her mother's room, who seems tob e in the same agony.

"Mom... what is that?" She groans. Her mother just growls.

"I don't know..." She mumbles into the pillow on her face. "What time is it?"

Katie squints her eyes to see the time on the clock on her mom's nightstand.

"It's 5.30..." She whispers in disbelief. Her mom sits up at this.

"What?" She asks in disbelief and looks at the clock. The sound continues to pound into their heads.

"Seriously, what is that?" Katie asks as she pulls the curtain of her mom's bedroom window aside a little. She blinks furiously at the light flooding her eyes. "Well, at least the sun has set." She mumbles. She looks around to figure out what the sound is. She can't see anything, but then suddenly notices a basketball bouncing by on the driveway. "What in the world..." She quietly says to herself. "Uh mom, I think someone is playing basketball in your driveway..."

Her mother turns around and Katie already feels bad for the person outside. He or she will never survive this one. But well, he or she had it coming. Her mother grabs one of Kendall's old hockey sticks and with a bathrobe on, she angrily heads downstairs. Katie quickly follows and swftly heads for the downstairs window, peering through the blinds. She pulls back in shock. She sees her mother nearly opening the door fiercely and then grabs her arm to stop her.

"Katie, what are you doing?" Jennifer Knight asks, looking very annoyed. But then she sees the shocked look in her daughter's eyes. "What? What is it?"

"Outside... That's..." She stammers, not sure whether to laugh or cry in response. Her mother frowns in confusion and opens the door anyway.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? It's five th..." Jennifer starts, but is then just as shocked. "Carlos?" She asks and watches the now grown up Latino nether have seen for years suddenly playing basketball in her driveway.

"You are seeing this, right?" Katie asks her and her mother nods slowly. Just then, the Latino turns tot hem and smiles widely.

"Hi Mama Knight!" He greets with a wave. "Is Kendall up yet? It's almost time for hockey practice." He announces.

Mother and daughter freeze and exchange a look of confusion as the man in front of them picks up the orange ball and starts to bounce it around again.

**A/N Hm... Guess that wasn't such a diffcult clue to uncover then, right? ;)**

**Thanks so much for your support again on the last chapter I loved reading all the reviews. They really got me inspired to write a new chapter right away. Hope you don't mind ;)**

**Anyway, has anyone else seen Carlos' muscles? I mean, jesus, dude... I like living! Wow... **

**Sorry about that :P I'll try to update again soon Sorry for the very long chapter with just a lot of info again. I didn't mean for that to happen. But I had to lead up the ending of this chapter somehow and this kind of happened. Let me know what you think of it!**

**Lots of Love, Baxxie**


	8. Chapter 7 Carlos, the Superhero

Chapter 7 Carlos, the Superhero

Jennifer Knight eyes the young man before her with confusion.

"Honey, what are you talking about?" She asks him, while he starts to play basketball again.

"Hockey practice always starts at 7. Did Kendall forget? That's just like him." He says with a grin.

"Uh, Carlos, Kendall doesn't live here anymore." Katie then adds. Carlos stops bouncing the ball and looks at them with a frown.

"What do you mean, where did he go?" He asks, sounding baffled. "And how do you know my name?" He suddenly adds, making Katie glance at her mother for a moment. She walks closer to the Latino, who looks her up and down and walks backwards a little.

"Carlos, it's me. Katie." She tells him.

"Yeah, right. You are way older than Katie..." He tells her.

"Okay, seriously, this isn't funny, dude. Just stop. I know we haven't seen each other in years. But you're the one who decided on that, not me." She tells him, getting a little bit annoyed.

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you…" He argues. "Can I just go and get Kendall? I don't want to be late for practice." He mentions towards Mrs. Knight as he passes her and enters the house.

The two women exchange looks again and quickly follow him. He is already running up the stairs, calling his friend's name.

"Katie, could you try to contact Carlos' family members? You once got his brother's number, right?" Mrs. Knight absentmindedly tells her, while slowly heading up the stairs.

"You do realize he's just playing around, right?" The young woman tells her mother.

"Just do it, Katie." Her mother orders. She sighs and heads for the living room to retrieve her phone.

Jennifer Knight slowly reaches the walkway of the stairs and looks around worriedly at the now grown up Latino frantically searching for his best friend.

"He's not there… His room isn't even there. There's fitness equipment in it. What happened to his stuff?" Carlos asks, already looking upset.

"Sweetie, why don't we go sit down for a minute, alright?" She offers warmly, trying to stay calm while slowly growing more and more concerned.

Carlos stops walking and looks at her, before nodding slightly. She puts her hand on his shoulder and hopes he can't feel how badly it's shaking as she leads him down the stairs.

As they come down, she leads them into the living area and has him sit down on the couch. Katie comes in moments later. Her mother sends a questioning look, she just shakes her head. Jennifer Knight sits next to Carlos, who seems to be lost in thought.

"I just don't understand. What happened to his room? Why would he move away without telling me?" he asks, looking up at her with childlike eyes filled with hurt and sadness. Her heart breaks at the sight of it.

"Well, uh, he moved out a few years ago, sweetie. He has his own family now." She slowly tries to explain as if speaking to a child.

He looks even more confused. "I-I don't understand. What do you mean, he has his own family? You're his family…" He says. Jennifer Knight takes a deep breath.

"Sweetheart, we'll always be his family. That's true. But he is grown up now. He is married and has children…" She trails off when suddenly an old melody starts to sound from Carlos' pants. He still looks shocked and utterly lost, not even noticing the soft notes of "Cover Girl" starting up, until he suddenly jolts a little.

He looks down and pulls a cell phone out of his pocket, the music growing louder now. He frowns at the screen and then looks back towards Mrs. Knight. He turns the phone around, but doesn't seem to understand.

"I-I don't…" He starts, when Mrs. Knight carefuly takes it from his shaking hands and gives it to Katie.

The young woman quickly picks it up and walks into the kitchen, while Mrs. Knight tries to calm down the young man next to her.

Moments later Katie walks back in. Her mother slowly excuses herself to Carlos with a smile and heads for the brunette, while keeping a close eye on the Latino.

"Apparently, that was Carlos' wife." Mrs. Knight's eyes grow wide at this. "She was in full panic mode because she woke up in an empty bed and couldn't find him anywhere. I told him he was fine and gave her our address. She's coming over." She informs her mother, who just nods and sighs.

They go and sit with Carlos for a little while as they wait. Katie jumps up when they hear the knock on the door. When she opens it, she's happily surprised to recognize an older version of the woman on the last picture Carlos sent her.

"Hi, I'm not sure if I'm at the right house…" She says, gulping and trying to control her breathing. Katie sends her a comforting smile.

"You must be Delilah. I'm Katie Knight, we spoke on the phone?" She says, holding out a hand. The woman shakes it and sighs in relief.

"I am so sorry about this…" She says, her voice shaking as Katie leads her inside and closes the door.

"He's in here." She announces as she leads Delilah into the living room.

"Oh my god… Carlos…" She says with a gasp and carefully kneels down to his level. He looks at her with confusion in his eyes. "I've been looking everywhere for you…" She tells him quietly. She looks up at Mrs. Knight, who smiles at her.

"You must be Delilah, Carlos' wife." Jennifer tells her. "I'm Jennifer Knight, Kendall's mother. I've known Carlos since he was little." She says as she introduces herself.

"Thank you for looking after him. Again, I am so sorry about this." The woman apologizes, but Mrs. Knight shakes her head.

"Don't worry about it. But uh, could I talk to you for a moment?" Delilah sends a worried look towards her husband, but soon follows the older woman into the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Uh, no, that's okay, thank you." Delilah politely tells her.

"Honey, I'm afraid something happened to Carlos. I'm not sure what, but he doesn't seem himself. He uh, he came over here looking for Kendall to go to hockey practice. But Kendall moved out years ago and they haven't played hockey in over 15 years. In fact, they haven't even seen or spoken to each for ten years. I think that maybe he hit his head or something…" She trails off, before noticing how Delilah still just looks at her without a hint of worry. She bites her lip slightly and looks down. "Why do I have the feeling this is sounding familiar to you. I mean, you don't even seem worried about him at all."

"It's just…" Delilah starts, looking down and taking a deep breath. She sniffles suddenly and chuckles embarrisingly. "I'm sorry…" She says as she sniffles again.

"No, it's okay…" Mrs. Knight tells her and gives her a tissue. She gratefully accepts it and wipes her eyes. "Just take it easy."

"I just… It's so hard…" Delilah says as she slowly breaks down. Mrs. Knight sits next to her and soothingly rubs her shoulder. "Watching him like this is…" She goes to say, but is then interrupted suddenly.

"Delilah?" Carlos calls out all of a sudden. Delilah looks up with wide eyes, as does Jennifer Knight. They get up and hurry into the living area. Carlos looks around in confusion and slight panic, until he notices his wife. She walks towards him and leans down in front of him. "I don't…" He starts to say, but she cuts him off.

"Sh, it's okay. You uh, they found you outside, playing basketball." She explains as she motions towards Mrs. Knight and Katie. He looks up with shocked eyes. They seem to light up when he glances at the women. He slowly gets up and walks towards them.

"Mama Knight?" He asks in disbelief. Then a huge smile breaks out on his face and he envelops the women in a tight hug. "Oh my god… It's been like forever since I've seen you." He happily says, even sniffling a little. Jennifer Knight just stands there in shock, very confused about what is happening.

Then he turns to Katie and looks her up and down, before gasping slightly.

"Wow… You're all grown up…" He nearly whispers. She stares at him unsurely, when he suddenly grabs her into a warmfelt hug. "I've missed you." He whispers into her ear. She swallows thickly to keep her emotions at bay.

When he lets go, he just looks at both women with a huge smile and tears in his eyes. "You both look amazing…" He tells them with a grin.

"Uh, thank you, sweetie. You look great yourself. And you're married, I hear." Mrs. Knight tells him, careful not to let him hear the shakiness still present in her voice.

"Jep. For almost five years now." He proudly announces and pulls Delilah in his arms and watching her with loving eyes. "I still love her as much as I did the first time we met." He says while looking at her.

Now Mrs. Knight can't stop her tears and start sniffling. Katie rolls her eyes and hands her a tissue, before quickly wiping her own eyes.

"That is just so beautiful. You look so happy together." Jennifer sobs and the couple smiles warmly. "And you're pregnant…" She suddenly gasps, only now taking notice of Delilah's swollen stomach.

Carlos grins at Delilah and puts a protective hand on her stomach.

"Oh, just look at you two… I remember when I was pregnant the first time. I was so happy…" The woman sobs, when Carlos and Delilah exchange a look.

"Uh, well, this isn't uh…" She starts.

"We already have three kids…" Carlos sheepishly adds. Mrs. Knight looks shocked for a moment and then loudly starts to sob and pulls both of them into a tight hug.

Katie just chuckles and then pries her mother away from the amused couple.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so happy that you're happy… I've seen the others, but seeing you, all grown up and married to a beautiful girl and you have kids… I just know you're amazing parents. I mean, you've always been great with kids. I can't believe I'm going to have another grandchild!" She blubbers. Katie sighs loudly and just pats her mom's back.

"Well, I for one am glad to see you broke off our contact for a good reason." She tells Carlos, who immediately looks guilty.

"Oh god… I did do that, didn't I? Katie, I am so sorry…" He says, but she just smirks at him.

"Don't worry about it. I kinda already figured when I got that last picture. I mean, I missed you and I was a little angry at first, but you're happy and that's all that matters to me." She tells him. He smiles in relief and pulls her into another hug.

"Thanks, Katie."

"Yeah, yeah. Now why don't you tell us why you were playing basketball in our driveway this morning, wondering why Kendall wasn't awake for hockey practice yet?" She bluntly throws in. Mrs. Knight shoots her a stern look and Carlos shares a look with Delilah. She just nods and sends him an encouraging smile. He takes a deep breath.

"Well, uh, why don't we sit down first." He offers and motions for the two women to sit down. They do straight away, while the couple sits opposite them. Delilah takes her husband's hand and softly squeezes it in reassurance.

"So uh, I guess I should start from the beginning." He tells them as he starts his story.

Carlos Garcia has always been the odd one in the bunch. He doesn't always think before he does anything, whether it's saying something that could get him in trouble or pulling a dangerous stunt that could kill him. He just loves to have fun and lives life with a nearly permanent smile on his face. It's why no one can ever stay mad at him. He just puts on his huge puppy dog eyes, along with quivering bottom lip and he wraps all people around his finger.

He's the little brother everyone feels the need to protect, which also leads to them not taking him serious all the time. Sure, he has a big imagination. And maybe wanting to beome a superhero when he grows up isn't very realistic. But it sounded a lot better than becoming a doctor or a model or a hockey player.

Still, that was just a back-up plan anyway. Because Big Time Rush was never going to break up. They were best friends and while they fought now and then, nothing could ever break their bond. At least that is what Carlos believed until ten years ago. That's when the cracks began to show. They fought more and more and all the happiness of performing seemed to ebb down slowly.

He tried to stay happy. He tried to keep his friends happy. But it didn't work. At all. They spent more and more time apart. Carlos could just feel their little family falling apart at the seams, which hurt him more than anything. But as much as he tried, he couldn't stop it.

Not that he had ever expected them to abandon him. The day Big Time Rush went their seperate ways was filled with excrutiating heartache that he had never exprienced before. His friends had always promised they wouldn't let the Hollywood life change them. Nothing could break their friendship, they would always protect each other, no matter what.

So why did they pack up their bags and leave him all by himself? They never even said goodbye. That was what hurt him the most. He wanted so badly to call them. But everytime he picked up the phone, his hands shook so bad that he couldn't dial anymore and he gave up, crying himself to sleep. It wasn't like he could just get up and get over it. He wishes he could. But after his friends left, he was the one left to take care of the press conferences, speaking to the fans… The things they yelled towards him were awful. It wasn't his fault. He never wanted the band to break up like this either, without as much as a goodbye, a last concert, anything. But he was the only one there to blame it on and a lot of them did.

He was the only one who didn't have any plans after the band disbanded. Sure, he had said he wanted to become a superhero if it ever happened. But no matter how stupid everyone thought he was, he knew it wasn't realistic. He was aware that he didn't have a back-up plan.

What was he supposed to do now? He knew he couldn't stay at the Palm Woods. But he didn't want to go back to Minnesota either. First of all, that's where his so called friends went and secondly, what did he have to go back there to? His family? The same family who he had to compete with to get any form of attention? Hockey? The sport he was once good at, but didn't want to do for the rest of his life? It just wasn't an option.

Then he decided to do what many others did when they went on a quest to find themselves; he went on a backpacking trip through Europe.

When he told his family, they were very hesitant. Was he sure it was such a good idea? LA was fine, because he went with his three older best friends. But a trip to Europe, by himself? Carlos rolled his eyes and instead called his older brother Antonio to join him and just went.

It was the best decision he ever made. Sure, it was terrifying as hell at first. But he met some incredible people and just discovering a whole other world and so many different cultures amazed him. He loved every minute of it. They visited the UK, France, Holland, Germany, Belgium and then left for Spain. (**A/N I'm from Europe and I know the order might not be logical. But it's fiction, so who cares ;))**

He had always longed to go there some day, the country his ancestors were from. Of course he knew all about the culture and had seen pictures of his grandparents when they went there on holidays. But he had never actually experienced it first hand. It felt amazing to him to step foot in the country and speak to the people in his mother tongue.

It was on a Friday when he went to explore more sights with his brother when he saw her. A beautiful girl was fitting another girl's dress during some sort of photoshoot. She looked amazing to him. Dark hair, tied together loosely, slightly tanned skin and curves in all the right places. She was slightly shorter than he was. And her eyes… He was mesmerized by her. His brother noticed and told him to go see her. He immediately protested heavily, but then his brother told him;

"Why are you so nervous about this? We're in Spain. This is your once in a lifetime moment. If it doesn't work out, who cares, because you'll never see her again." Yeah, that was reassuring…

But he was right about something; this was his moment. And since he wasn't surrounded by all those people who claimed they knew him completely, he could just be a different person. He was glad he left his helmet at the hotel that day. He decided to put on his best 'James' game and stepped up to the Spanish beauty.

He smiled seductively as he grabbed her hand, kissed it and told her in perfect Spanish how beautiful her eyes were.

The girl looked flabbergasted and seemed ready to melt on the spot. The girl next to her gasped and squealed with glee for her friend.

"Wow… I have no idea what you just said, but it sounded so hot…" She suddenly said in response in perfect American English, still holding his hand. He nearly took his hand back in shock. But then he chuckled. He had spoken in Spanish, because he assumed it was her language. Time to shock her right back.

"I uh, I said you have beautiful eyes." He told her and challengingly stared at her. He didn't know where his sudden confidence came from, but the gasp coming from her and her friend made him glad he did that.

"That was…" She stammered. "That sounded American…" she said, looking at him with wide eyes. He couldn't help but chuckle again.

"Uh, yeah. It was. I'm uh, I'm from the US, born and raised in Minnesota actually. I'm Carlos." He told her.

"I'm Delilah…" She told him, while staring deeply into his eyes. They just stood there, staring at each other, holding hands still, mesmerized and feeling an instant connection as the world disappeared around them.

She told him she was helping out on her friends' photoshoot, who was a model. Delilah wanted to become a designer and this was her way of starting up her network, before hopefully getting accepted into Parson's Deisgn school in New York in the fall.

She and her friend were still staying there another two weeks, before going back home. Carlos and Antonio were on their way to Italy, so there wasn't a lot of time left for them to spend together. But they clicked instantly and spend those two weeks together constantly. He showed her what the culture was really like and even taught her some Spanish, while they got to know each other.

During photoshoots, Carlos stayed around and doodled a little in a sketchbook. It was something he always did when his mind wandered off. He didn't have control over it. But it was better than annoying others with his endless amount of energy and not being able to sit still. It was then that Delilah noticed the small cartoons he was drawing and commented on how good they were. She even convinced him to show them to a designer on the photoshoot, who agreed and told him he was really talented.

He had never even considered it. It was just a habit, he didn't think they were any good. But it made him think. What if this was the direction he should take? Delilah told him that there were other design courses in New York that he could apply for. That really made him stop and think. College? Now that he never thought about. He knew he wasn't stupid, but college was never something anyone considered for him.

After saying his goodbyes to Delilah, before exchanging contact details of course, his brother and him travelled to Italy and some small places before finally heading home. He couldn't it out of his mind though. Without speaking to his family, he sent in an application to NYU for Design Studies, just to see what would happen.

A month later he was packing up his things and moving to the Big Apple without looking back. His entire life changed. He met up with Delilah again and while they were both very busy with their studies, they were so head over heels with one and other that they soon got together and stayed that way.

After four years they graduated and found a nice apartment together while looking for work. Their wedding took place a year later and their first child, a little girl by the name of Shayla Garcia, was born 8 months later. Not that their families had any idea. They just thought it was exactly 9 months and the couple was determined to keep it that way. Carlos' family was all about traditions and it would break their heart to know the truth. Delilah's military father on the other hand would break Carlos if he ever found out. So really, it was in their best interest to keep some secrets to themselves.

Carlos was ecstatic. He always wanted kids and now he finally had a baby girl of his own. Before she was born, he had insisted they were having a girl. Delilah shrugged it off every time. But he knew for sure and when the moment finally came, he looked his little girl in the eyes and let a tear slip down his cheeks as he held her.

Everyone seemed somewhat surprised to see him calm down immediately after Shayla was born. He was less energetic and though people thought he might not be able to handle it, having never been very mature, he stepped up and became an amazing father, who doted on his daughter's every move. To protect her from harm, he even gave her his most prized possession, the helmet his father once gave him.

His family was overjoyed. And it was a good thing everything happened a little fast, because it was the first and the last time Carlos' parents were able to see their granddaughter. They had already moved to Florida by that time to enjoy the sun. But Carlos' dad couldn't give up his job. He loved being a cop and continued the dangerous profession in the Sunshine State.

Carlos' father had been on a drugs bust when one of the suspects surprised him from behind and shot him in the head. Needless to say, the man was never the same after that. He survived, but had suffered a lot of braindamage and couldn't do anything for himself anymore.

They all tried to help as much as they could, but while Carlos lived in New York, his other siblings also lived spread out over the US. After a while, his mother couldn't handle it and decided to put their father in a nursing home. Yes, he did get the care he needed now. But it was unforgiveable to Carlos how his mother packed up her things and left with the new man in her life. He had never even met the guy, but his mother traded him in for his father, just like that.

His father died five months later. Carlos had been devastated. He had hardly gotten to see him. He had wanted to visit more, but it was hard with the distance to travel and with a small baby to take care of. He felt guilty. But he only found out later that he was the only one who visited the man at all. All the caretakers were fond of the wounded cop and loved seeing his eyes light up whenever his Carlitos was coming to visit. He would talk about him for hours.

Still, Carlos couldn't get rid of the guilt for a long time. At the funeral he was reunited with his siblings, but there was a lot of tension between them. And his mother? She wasn't even there. Needless to say, he couldn't stay for very long. I just hurt so much. He did visit the grave after the service and had a private moment to say goodbye to the man he had looked up to all these years. He was hoping he'd see more familiar faces from Minnesota. But later, again, he found out that his eldest brother hadn't even invited anyone from there. Even some people he once worked with just happened to find out about the service and barely managed to attend.

After that, Carlos cut all ties to his family. It felt horrible, especially for someone as caring and forgiving as Carlos. But this, this was just disrepectful and unforgiveable. They didn't arrange anything the way his father would have wanted. He couldn't even look at them anymore, let alone talk to them.

It was hard for him, being a family man. But he knew he had to do it. And besides, he had his own family to take care of now. He happily watched and recorded all his daughter's first moments. He almost cried when her first word was 'dada'. Delilah never told him her first word was actually 'helmet', he just seemed so happy. The girl was his little princess and Delilah couldn't deny that the two held a very special bond. She felt a little jealous at times, but just awed at all the times where he sang his little girl to sleep and comforted her when she cried.

Business was slowly picking up for both of them. Delilah came up with a line of maternity clothes, which grew to be pretty popular with some celebrities. In the meantime Carlos developed his first comic book series 'Monkey Dogs'. It was a term his old record producer Gustavo once used to describe him and his three friends. It stuck by him. Because even though it still hurt him to think about what happened, he missed them and the bond they used to have. That term was just a reminder of the good old days.

Companies he presented it too laughed in his face. It was a tough business, but he wouldn't give up. He kept improving the stories and sketches and kept trying to sell them.

When Delilah became pregnant again, Shayla was two. The small family was overjoyed, but Carlos felt a little frustrated. Especially when they discovered they were having twins. Because that meant extra costs, thus more money.

He worked very hard and came up with a final design. He stepped into a Starbucks one day and bumped into someone, making him drop all his drawings. The man had coffee now poured all over him. Carlos apologized over and over again, while trying to pick up his drawings. But instead of getting mad, the man picked up one of the designs and laughed out loud. Carlos shot up and wanted to get mad, but the man wasn't laughing at the designs. He was laughing at the comic itself. He thought it was hilarious. And of course the man happened to know a publisher, who would love it.

In short, Carlos was signed immediately and soon held the first copy of 'Monkey Dogs' in his hands. No one had expected it to be too much of a success outside of the children's target group. But it soon started to grow and teens and adults started to read it as well. One thing Carlos did agree on with the publisher, was that he wanted to remain anonymous. He was done with the limelight. This was just something he liked to do, so just the letters CG neatly hidden in the bottom was fine to him.

The Garcia family soon expanded with two more children, a boy named Parker and another girl named Molly. Once again, Carlos had predicted both genders. They were happy, but it stung for Carlos to not be able to share it with his own family. Sure, he had some new friends, but they weren't close to him like brothers or sisters. He just missed his siblings and his second family. In the end he just settled for sticking with his own small family and couldn't be happier.

It was all going so well. So where was the turning point? For Carlos it started with sudden headaches. In the beginning it seemed normal and he just thought he should spend less time behind his computers designing or behind the drawing desk. But the headaches became more frequent and more intense. It got so bad, he couldn't work for two days and just had to lie in bed and wait for it to go away.

Delilah made him go see a doctor, who told him it was migraines. He was given some medication to take when another migraine hit and it would be okay. He was confused. Because it wasn't something that ran in his family, except for maybe the women, and he never had them before. So why now? Then again, he wasn't a doctor, so why should he question the man?

Three weeks later he experienced his first black-out. He just got up to work in his studio. It was 6AM. The twins were in their playpen and Shayla was spending a day with mommy in her studio. He sat behind his desk and started to work with some music on. The next moment, he looked up at the clock and saw it was 8AM. Two hours had gone by and he had no recollection of what he had done in that time. He looked at his paper and sure enough, there were drawings on it, but they were of his family and had nothing to do with his comic. He felt a small amount of panic hit him.

But then he realized he was being stupid. This could happen. Sometimes you get so caught up in your own work, you don't even realize time passing by. And maybe in that time, he absentmindedly drew his family, because they were on his mind. He just shrugged it off and went back to work.

This happened the next two times as well. Because not a lot of time had passed and he was alone both times. He just lost track of time. It happens to everyone.

But the next time he wasn't so lucky. He remembered waking up in the morning and getting the twins, who were crying. The next moment he was sitting on the couch ans it was dark outside again. Delilah was sitting next to him as they watched TV. He just looked around in a slight panic. He didn't remember anything he did that day. Did he even draw anything? Did he spend time with the kids?

He tried hard not to let his wife know about what had occurred. She didn't say anything to him about it. So maybe she didn't notice. But he did. How could he not notice missing nearly 14 hours of a day? It freaked him our, but he decided to keep it to himself. They had small children. He didn't want them to worry. This was just a one time thing… right?

But it wasn't. It just got worse. Not the time frame though, he never lost 14 hours anymore. But apparently he did act a little different now and again. After one black-out, he found himself suddenly holding his old hockey helmet, while his daughter Shayla was crying her eyes out. He quickly went to soothe her and gave her the helmet back. He just told her it was a game and he didn't mean whatever he did. Thankfully, she had inherited his forgiving nature. But it was far too close. Why would he even take the helmet from her?

Another time he found himself in the arcade in the middle of the day, with 6 missed calls from his manager, who he was supposed to meet that morning. Another 8 missed calls were from his wife, who was worried sick since he didn't show up at the meeting. Kids in the aracade were giving him weird looks. He heard from some people working there that he had acted like a 6 year old as he played the games. He felt so embarrassed, he left right away and never went back.

He didn't realize that his wife was already noticing something wasn't right. She tried to confront him about it, but he just waved it off, saying it was nothing to worry about. So what if he wanted to act like a child now and then?

The black-outs weren't the only problem though. His memory slowly started to fail him as well. He started to lose his keys wherever he went and found them in the freezer, the fridge, his twins' bed. He sometimes even mixed up his children's names and one particular time forgot them completely. That was the last draw for Delilah. She tried to force him to go see a doctor and they got into a huge fight. But he refused to admit anything was wrong.

Truthfully he was scared to death. Because clearly something was wrong. But he couldn't face it. He needed to be strong. He needed to be a superhero, for his wife, his children, for himself.

The breaking point occurred on a Sunday afternoon. Delilah was in the living room, playing with the twins, while Carlos was making lunch in the kitchen and Shayla was drawing on the floor. Delilah giggled when her son sneezed loudly and then grinned right after.

"Mommy, is lunch ready yet?" Shayla asked her mother, who looked up.

"I don't know, sweetie. Why don't you go ask daddy? Maybe you can even help him." She suggested to her daughter, who happily skipped away into the kitchen.

She came back seconds later. "Mommy?"

"Hm?" Delilah responded, while still keeping her eyes on the twins.

"I thought you said we aren't allowed to draw on the walls?" Shayla suddenly asked, making Delilah frown.

"You're not." She said.

"Then why is daddy allowed to do it?" Delilah turned around in confusion and got up from th floor.

"Look after you brother and sister for a moment." She mentioned as she slowly approached the kitchen. The moment she stood in the doorway, a hand flew to her mouth and a loud gasp escaped. With shocked eyes she stared at her husband, who continued to do what he was doing without even noticing another presence in the room.

After what seemed like minutes, she snapped out of it and shakily walked over to her husband and touched his shoulder.

"Carlos?" She nearly whispered with a quivering bottom lip. "Carlos?" She asked again, a little louder.

He suddenly seemed to come out of his trance like state and turned to her.

"What?" He said with a smile. But seeing hr distraught state, immediately made him concerned. "What is it, what happened?" He asked her, while she just looked around with tears threatening to spill. He turned around in confusion and then gasped as well.

The kitchen was completely covered in drawings. The walls, the kitchen cabinets, all of it. He turned back to his wife.

"Who did that? Didn't we tell the kids they're ot allowed to draw on the walls?" He asked, looking slightly angry. But before he could leave, she grabbed his arm.

"They didn't do it." She told him, still shaking.

"Then who did?" He asked her in confusion. She just stared down at his hands. He looked down and his eyes widened.

In his hands he still held the black ink marker used to make all the drawings. He dropped it as if it burned him. He held out his arms and was shocked to see them covered in the same black ink.

Tears filled his eyes. "Oh god… I don't… I didn't…" He whispered as he fell to his knees. He looked around with shocked eyes and quietly started to sob. His wife soon joined him on the floor and just wrapped her arms around him while he cried.

They had an appointment with their doctor the following day. After describing what happened, he immediately made an appointment for them at the local hospital to run some tests. The couple was terrified, especially with all the blood tests and then the MRI done. After a week, the doctor called them back in for the results.

If he couldn't say it over the phone, it couldn't be good. The two stepped into the office and sat together quietly. They hadn't said a word since they left home. Neither knew quite what to say. They could both feel something was wrong. When the doctor came in, he immediately greeted them with a warm smile. He seemed generally happy, so maybe it was good news after all?

"Mr. And Mrs. Garcia. We received the results of the several tests we took and I'm afraid it's not good news." Oh. "I'm afraid there is a tumor lodged in Mr. Garcia's head, which is pressing on his brain. This is the reason for the black-outs and memory lapses." He casually explained.

The couple sat in complete shock as the doctor told them the news. Delilah saw how her husband started to shake and squeezed his hand for comfort. She warmly smiled at him, which he tried to return, but just couldn't.

"So what now?" She shakily asked the doctor.

"I'm afriad there is nothing we can do. The tumor is lodged too far. It would be too dangerous to remove it and any normal treatment will not help at this point." He blatantly informed them.

They sat there in shock, looking at the doctor, who told them this information without a care in the world. He actually smiled at them.

"So, you're saying there's nothing at all you can do?" Delilah asked him with a frown.

"I'm afraid not."

"But that would mean… it's cancer, isn't it? Then this could kill him… You can;t just sit there and tell us there's nothing you can do." She told him, standing up and angrily staring him down.

"Mrs. Garcia…" He started with a bored sigh.

"No, you listen!" She shouted. "He is 29 years old. Plenty of people have had cancer and got better after treatment. So start him on chemotherapy or anything like that!"

"Mrs. Garcia, like I said, without removing the tumor, chemotherapy will have no effect, nor will radiation therapy. I'm afraid there is nothing we can do." He told her again.

She was absolutely fuming.

"Now I do have a card for you, which might be able to help you get through your tough times." He offered and handed her a card. She took one look and in a swift moment, stalked to the other side of the desk, threw back the card and punched him square in the face.

Then she walked back and pulled her still shocked and pale husband from his seat. He just stared into space, while she angrily walked out of the hospital with him.

"Recommending a therapist… How dare he? What a complete and utter asshole!" She mutters angrily, before softening up and looking at her husband. "Carlos? It's going to be okay, alright? We're going to find help."

He didn't respond to her, while they got into their car and drove back to their personal physician. He was shocked at what had happened at the hospital and quickly placed a few phone calls to some colleagues. He told the couple he would do everything he could to find help or at least a second opinion.

A second opinion they got. That doctor thankfully told them it was possible to remove the tumor and get treatment. But they didn't have the facilities for it. It required a specialist, a neurosurgeon, one of the best. Delilah told him she didn't care what it cost, as long as he would get better. The doctor quickly put them into contact with the best neurosurgeon he knew, who of course resided in Minnesota.

The decision was quickly made and they soon made plans to head back to Carlos' former hometown. The memory lapses and black-outs remained and became worse. But the family learned to deal with them, since they didn't have a choice right now.

Before they fully packed up, however, some other news came to light. Delilah was pregnant again. As happy as they both were, it couldn't have happened at a worse time. She was already three months pregnant. In six months time they would have four children to take care of, while Carlos might be going through cancer treatment. They decided not to think of that right now.

Thankfully everyone around them supported them in every way. They didn't mind having to keep in touch at such a long distance for work. Carlos' health was far more important right now. They were grateful and finally headed back to the cold land of Minnesota.

Mrs. Knight and Katie sit in shocked silence after hearing the full story.

"So, we have our first apointment with the doctor this afternoon and find out more." Delilah explains, while rubbing her husband's knee, since he has become down and silent once again.

"Carlos, honey…" Mrs. Knight says as she starts to cry. She leans forward and pulls the man into her arms, like she would have done years ago when he was just a child. That is all it takes to get Carlos to break down himself. He cries in her arms, letting out all the fear he has been building up for the appointment.

Katie soon joins in, holding on to her big brother for dear life.

After all the crying is over, they talk a little more, before Delilah announces it's time to go home. Their appointment will take place in a few hours and they have to get ready.

Jennifer and Katie Knight hug both of them one final time, before wishing them good luck and waving goodbye. They close the door and exchange glances.

"I need coffee…" Mrs. Knight announces as she heads for the kitchen.

"Got anything stronger?" Katie asks her, before following suit.

**A/N And there you have it. So a lot of you got it right, Carlos is sick. The poor thing. Finally here was his background story and the reason why they moved to Minnesota. Of course they didn't share this many details with the Knight's, but I felt you should know ;)**

**Anyway, thanks again for all the support on this story! I think I'll try to focus on James again for the next chapter. He hasn't been around for a while :P**

**Let me know what you think and until next time!**

**Love, Baxxie**


End file.
